


Every End Means A Start

by EveryEndMeansAStart



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:42:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 43,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28454058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EveryEndMeansAStart/pseuds/EveryEndMeansAStart
Summary: After finding out that Katherine isn't in the tomb Damon announces his intention to leave and find her... But in the end everything turns out different than expected...
Relationships: Elena Gilbert/Damon Salvatore
Comments: 4
Kudos: 29





	1. Goodbye For Now

**Author's Note:**

> Ported over from FF. I got the idea for this one shot as soon as I finished watching the episode "Fool Me Once". It moved me so much and I felt so strongly for Damon that I just had to write this. I hope you like it!

_Dear Diary,_

_today something really awful happened._

_More awful than my boyfriend being a vampire._

_More awful than all the killings._

_Much more awful than that._

_As we promised Damon, we opened the tomb in which the dead vampires are buried. It was a terrifying experience. All those dead bodies around me…_

_But that wasn't even the worst. The worst thing is that it was all for nothing. Katherine's body wasn't there and nobody knows why._

_Damon was so… different when he found out. I lack the words to describe what he looked like and the presence surrounding him. All I know is that seeing him like this made me…_

* * *

"Knock, knock."

Startled by the sudden voice Elena stopped writing and looked up from her diary to find Damon standing by the window.

"Whoa, Damon, you gave me a scare!"

"Still?" he said incredulously. "I thought you'd gotten over that."

"I have," Elena emphasized. "But... Nah, forget it. What gives me the pleasure for you invading my home in the middle of the night?"

She tried to sound all carefree, to adapt the way he usually talked to her. She hoped she could cheer him up that way and make him forget all his misery for just five minutes.

"Oh, I just thought I'd stop by and say hello. Stefan's kinda quiet."

Elena smiled, glad he played along in her game of suppressing, and put her diary aside.

"You're writing about me in there?" he asked cockily and tried to get a glance at the entry she just wrote but she quickly shut it.

"No," she said smugly. "You wish."

"Oh, come on. I must have left some impression on you," he insisted.

"Mmh… maybe."

She grinned. He grinned too and pointed at the space next to her on the bed.

"May I?"

"Um sure. Have a seat," she offered, feeling a little bit uncomfortable with him being suddenly so close but this feeling vanished when she caught the distressed look on his face. She wanted to say something but he beat her to it.

"I… didn't have a chance to say thank you earlier," he started.

"Damon…"

"So thank you," he cut her off. Obviously it took him a lot of strength to do this and he wanted to get it over with as soon as possible. "Thank you for that I could trust you in this thing and for allowing me to trust me brother in it."

He paused for a second like trying to find the right words. "Remember how I said you're not the worst company in the world? It's true you're not and Stefan can be happy to have you."

"Oh, Damon!"

Elena leapt forward, obviously to hug him but he backed away.

"One hug a day is enough, I guess," he said, trying to keep composure. "Just remember one thing," he continued, looking earnest. "No matter how much you'll hear it… but aside from the looks, you're _nothing_ like Katherine." He stressed the last part so coldly that it made Elena shiver. "And I'm glad you are." He left it there.

"What are you gonna do now, Damon?" Elena asked carefully.

"I'm leaving," Damon told her. "Katherine wasn't in that tomb but she's gotta be somewhere, right?"

"But she could be buried anywhere!"

Out of the corner of her eye Elena witnessed Damon flinch at the word "buried".

"She's not dead," he said slowly.

"But she got caught by–"

"She didn't!" he corrected her fiercely and startled Elena. "She didn't" he repeated more calmly. "I asked Anna and she told me… she told me everything. She's seen Katherine in Chicago some time ago. I'm gonna find her."

Silence fell upon them. Damon seemed to be lost in thoughts while staring at the floor. Elena, feeling extremely uncomfortable, stared at her fingernails.

"When… are you gonna leave?"

"Tomorrow by noon," he told her without looking up.

"So this is goodbye."

"So this is goodbye."

Noon came sooner than Elena would have preferred. She knew Damon was leaving and she felt like having so much to say to him. She tried to prepare a speech, copying it into her diary but it didn't seem enough.

* * *

_Dear Diary,_

_today Damon left town. I don't know if for good or if he comes back with or without Katherine. I hope he'll find her. I can't stand to see this sad look on his face. It's so not like him! But he also doesn't seem psyched enough to go searching her. There was no hope in his eyes when he told me. It rather looked like he wanted to end it all._

_Well, I'm probably imagining…_

_Saying goodbye to Damon was harder than I expected. I used to hate him for posing a threat to Stefan, me, my family and friends but now that I know his motives I kinda changed my mind. I don't justify the killings of course… but somehow I can understand him._

* * *

"I really don't know why you make such fuzz about it," Damon said, half amused. "You were happy to get rid of me, remember?"

Stefan was silent. Of course he had been happy about getting rid of Damon before but now that he had seen a human side of Damon, he didn't want him to leave. It was like losing his brother all over again. Elena knew this. She could read it from his face. She felt terrible, too. Against her own will she had started to actually like Damon.

"Oh, come on, don't pull such a face. I'm not dying, just leaving," he joked to cheer them up but failed. "Honestly, there's something seriously wrong with you, guys. You should be happy I'm gone."

Now Elena found her voice to speak.

"Yeah, some people may really be happy you're gone because you're such an arrogant ass without remorse." Damon smiled smugly. "But," she continued, looking straight into his blue eyes. "To me, you're always welcome here. Come back whenever you want with or without Katherine. You can always come back. And keep in touch."

It was then when her voice broke. What was wrong with her? In front of her there was the guy who killed so many people she knew and now she actually felt sorry for him and sad for him leaving. And before anyone could expect or prevent it she leapt at him and hugged him tightly.

"Oh no, don't shed tears for me. I'm not worth it," Damon joked.

"You're such an idiot!" Elena cried fiercely, hugging him even tighter.

The smug on his face vanished as Damon hugged her back.

"Thank you, Elena," he whispered into her ear. "For everything…" Then he let her go, being a jerk all over again. "You really don't like John Varvatos shirts, do you? Geez…"

He pretended to wring his shirt out. The false act made Elena and Stefan laugh slightly. Damon looked at Stefan expectantly. Now it was his turn to say something.

"Well, what can I say? Elena already said it all." Elena laughed chokingly. "But," Stefan continued. "I hope that you'll find her so that you'll finally be happy after all these years."

"Centuries," corrected Damon but his face lit up. "Come here, little brother," he said. he and Stefan hugged brotherly. Then Damon pushed him away. "Seriously, what are you doing to me?" he said smiling smugly and making the other two laugh. "Stay good," he told Stefan. "And as for the woman…" He turned to Elena and it was like a Deja-vu when he kissed her hand. "It was nice meeting you, Ms Gilbert. And we should definitely go for a road trip together again."

Elena laughed again. "It was nice meeting you, too, Damon."

He bowed, whispered "Goodbye" and in the blink of an eye he was gone.


	2. Farewell Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your reviews! I'm really happy you like the story and want to read more. Also, keep in mind, this was my very first fanfiction and I wrote it back in 2011. So by now it must be as far from canon as it gets. Enjoy! :)

_Last I saw her was in Chicago. 1983._

Damon kept repeating Anna's words over and over in his head. It's been 27 years. Katherine could be anywhere now. If she still fed on human blood as he assumed she had the move often to cover her tracks. The chances of finding her were very low but Chicago was everything he had got, his only track to Katherine.

Damon had expected Stefan and Elena to stop him from leaving, telling him finding her wouldn't change anything… that he would be disappointed once again. Yet they hadn't. In fact, they even understood him very well, especially Elena. She'd been his support when his legs had threatened to give away after they'd left the tomb. The tomb in which Katherine should have been buried but wasn't. Damon just had to find her. She was everything he'd ever cared about.

_She knew where you were Damon… she didn't care._

He just couldn't believe these words. He and Katherine had shared so much. He was sure she'd never compelled him. He had acted out of his own will because he had loved her. She must have had some feelings for him, as well. She had turned him so that they could be together for eternity. They'd planned a future together.

**Flashback**

_Damon and Katherine were lying in bed, kissing passionately._

_"When are you gonna turn me?" he hissed._

_"Soon," she breathed and kissed him again._

_"Why not now? Time's running out. I told you they'd get closer everyday," Damon insisted._

_"I'm waiting for the right moment." She gave him one of those smiles he favored._

_"When will that be?"_

_Damon locked his lips, looking questioningly at Katherine. He demanded an answer._

_"You can be such a downer at times," she said offended and got off him._

_She went to the mirror and started brushing her hair. It was then when Damon first had doubts whether Katherine really wanted to be with him. He knew she'd been with his brother, too._

_Katherine watched him closely in the mirror. Damon straightened himself up._

_"But really, why waiting?" he started again._

_He heard her sigh deeply before she turned around._

_"You never give up, do you?" she observed._

_"I'm sorry," Damon quickly said and hung his head._

_"It's okay." Katherine's expression softened while she returned to his side. "I like that. You'll be a marvelous vampire."_

_That made Damon smile. Katherine softly pushed him back flat onto the mattress and started caressing his chest. "I just don't want you to die so soon," she said ever so sweetly and gave him a puppy eyes look which he couldn't resist._

_He leant forward and kissed her. Then he asked "And then? What happens if it becomes more dangerous for you?"_

_"Then we'll leave," she told him simply and started to kiss him passionately._

**End of Flashback**

Back then Damon had assumed she had included him in the "we" but now it started to down on him that he might not have been supposed to accompany her. He quickly shook it off. She wanted him like he wanted her. He strongly believed in that. As for her not getting in touch with him he found comfort in that she might be too busy. With whatever that might be.

And so he was boarding the plane that would take him straight to Chicago, wondering what the future might hold for him.

* * *

Elena was standing in front of the mirror in her room, getting dressed. She'd gotten up an hour earlier to look superb when she'd leave the house. The effort was worth it because she'd noticed Stefan losing interest in her. He'd changed extremely since Damon had left. It's been a month now in which they hadn't heard anything from him. Elena knew that he was worried about his brother but she also couldn't ignore the fact that Stefan was keeping his distance from her. She feared to lose him so she'd decided to show him what he would be missing, presenting all her beauty to him. Confident, it would attract him she went to school.

The first two people she met were Bonnie and Caroline.

"Elena!" Caroline said offended. "You're going to a party after school and you didn't tell me?"

Elena laughed at her indignant face and opened her locker.

"No, I'm not. It's for Stefan."

"Ah, so you're going out with him after school," Bonnie said knowingly.

"Nice thought," Elena replied and collected her books. "But it's not like that. In fact, we haven't been dating for quite a while now."

"But you're always together," Caroline observed.

"Yeah. That's it. We're together but we're not doing anything."

Sighing, Elena closed the locker and leant her back against it. "He's distancing himself from me."

"But why would he do that?" Bonnie asked incredulously. "You mean so much to him. I saw it."

"I don't know," Elena said. "All I know is it all started with Damon leaving."

"Well, personally I, am glad he's gone," Caroline bluntly said and Bonnie nodded in agreement. "Couldn't stand to see him almost everywhere I go."

"I'm not happy about it," Elena sighed. "Seems like something's missing."

The bell rang and they went to the classroom. In front of it they met Stefan. He gave Elena a short salutatory nod. Elena's face fell. So much for her plan. He had barely looked at her. Elena slumped into her seat and buried her face in your hands.

Their first lesson was American history. Elena hardly followed. All she got was that Saltzman was talking about how the town got its name Mystic Falls. She briefly wondered why he was revising this now. It would usually be taught two grades earlier. Actually, their topic now was World War II. Saltzman basically told them Mystic Falls' history in the nineteenth century.

"Can someone tell me when it was when the people in Mystic Falls believed in the existence of mystery and its creatures?" he asked.

"1864," Elena said monotonously.

She had encountered this date so often for the past months. She knew everything related to it. Back then Mystic Falls was founded, back then the people had been of vampires, back then Stefan and Damon had met Katherine…

"Right," Saltzman said. Of course he wasn't surprised she knew this as knew that she was in touch with vampires. For a moment Elena felt his gaze upon her. "Back then the people believed in everything," he continued. "Vampires… witches…" Elena and Bonnie shared a look and grinned. "It all ended it 1864 as well when they captured some people who were believed to be vampires."

"Terrible tragedy," Stefan said behind Elena.

She resisted the urge to turn around and look at him and turned her gaze to Saltzman instead. He was fixing Stefan for a moment.

"Yeah," he just said before he let his gaze wander around the class again.

"And what happened to the people?"

"Buried," Elena said before she could stop herself. Damn, she thought in the next moment. Her leg started to hurt because Bonnie had kicked it. Nobody aside from her, Stefan, Bonnie and her Grams knew that there was a tomb full of vampire bodies that might be resurrected anytime.

The class had gotten awfully quiet. Elena felt everyone's gaze upon her but Stefan, Bonnie and Saltzman's were the most penetrating ones. She tried to keep composure.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked, pretending to be ignorant of what she had just said.

"You just said the vampires were buried," Caroline said.

"No, I didn't," Elena corrected her. "I said burnt. They were burnt."

"But I'm sure you said–"

"Sometimes I mumble, I'm sorry," Elena apologized and met Saltzman's gaze. "They were burnt," she added emphatically.

It seemed to take ages until Saltzman finally continued. Now Elena knew why he was revising the subject. As he knew there were vampires in town he wanted the people in class to not let their guard down. Of course he couldn't tell him the truth so he reminded them of what the people back then believed in.

The lesson soon ended after that little incident. The bell rang and the class was already getting up from their seats when Saltzman stopped them.

"I have an announcement to make," he declared and asked for everyone's attention. "Today's my last day here. I'm gonna leave Mystic Falls soon." Disappointment shot through the class because Saltzman had not been unpopular. "My successor will be happy to welcome you to his class tomorrow. I really enjoyed being your teacher. Good luck for the future."

Poor Aunt Jenna, Elena thought.

They left the classroom and went back to the lockers. Stefan and Bonnie waited for Caroline to leave for the toilet, then they turned to Elena.

"Elena, are you out of your mind?! Bonnie asked shocked. "You nearly gave me a heart attack in there."

"That was short. Too short, Elena. You have to be careful," Stefan reproached her.

"I know, I'm sorry," Elena said.

"What's wrong with you?" Bonnie asked. "You're never careless."

"I don't know, okay?" Elena said irritated. "Just forget it."

She knew she had been careless but she thought she had saved herself pretty well. Stefan probably sensed her feelings so he tried to cheer her up.

"You know our story pretty well now, don't you?" he said smiling.

"By heart," Elena replied dryly. She turned around to head for the classroom. Bonnie followed her.

Stefan didn't.

* * *

She had seen it coming all the way so she wasn't really surprised when Stefan send her a text message later that day to meet her at the Salvatore manor after school. Yet it didn't mean she accepted it.

"No!" Elena protested.

"Elena, all the vampire are leaving town. I realized it when Saltzman announced his leaving. I have to go. I have to cover my tracks."

"But the killings stopped. No one's suspecting you," Elena argued.

"Bu still it's never safe for a vampire to stay at one place for a long time. They could get to me by getting to you. It's for the best, Elena."

"But!" Elena insisted. "First Damon, now you. I can't take that, Stefan."

I'm sure you'll take it just fine. You're not alone. You've got Bonnie and Caroline and your family."

"But that's not enough!" Elena said. She was crying now. "Please don't go!"

"I'm sorry, Elena but I have no choice," Stefan apologized.

"Is it because of Damon? Will you go after him?" she asked.

"No, I'll go somewhere else. Anywhere. I'm not sure whereto yet.

"And when will you come back?" Elena inquired.

"I don't know…"

"You have to come back! I need you to come back! I love you, Stefan! Please, come back!"

"I love you, too, Elena. I promise I'll do my best to come back soon. Until then take care."

He kissed her softly goodbye, then he was gone, leaving Elena alone in the far too large manor.


	3. Lost In You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another! I have decided to upload two chapters per weekend. Yesterday was a really weird day I am uploading chapter 2 and 3 today.

Finding a vampire who probably didn't want to be found wasn't the easiest thing to do. Damon had been searching for quiet a while now without any clue of Katherine's whereabouts. Chicago was a big city, where should he start to look for her? His first destination had been the town's registration office. Maybe Anna had met Katherine in Chicago because she had actually lived there for a while. He had gone straight to the office and compelled the civil servant to tell him everything about Katherine. He also showed him a picture of her but he had no luck. Katherine hadn't been living in Chicago. At least she was not registered. Maybe she had seen to that.

If she hadn't had a house, maybe she had lived at a hotel back then, Damon pondered. It was more her style anyway. So he had downloaded and printed out a list of ostentatious hotels in Chicago. There weren't few of them. Checking up on all of them had taken its time. Then, after two weeks he had finally discovered Katherine's trace.

Katherine had been living at the "Trump International Hotel and Tower Chicago" for two month in 1983. The bill told him that she hadn't a private residence so she had to constantly travel around. Damon wasn't stupid. Katherine had paid the bill by MasterCard. So all he had to do was going to the headquarters of the company and take a look at the record of the card. It would eventually take him to Katherine. To the place where she last paid by credit card.

For a vampire the journey from Chicago to New York didn't take long. Soon he had reached the headquarters of MasterCard. Like before at Chicago's registration office he compelled the employee in customer service to run a scan on Katherine through his data bank and to print the recent record of her card. Everything went very well and he was even luckier. Katherine had recently used her card in Washington, yet again at a noble hotel.

He didn't hesitate for a second and went straight to Washington. He checked in at the same hotel Katherine was staying at and forced the receptionist to tell him Katherine's room number.

Satisfied about how close he was he slumped onto the large and comfortable bed in his suite and quickly fell asleep. When he woke up a few hours later he was feeling extremely hungry. Actually, he had been on animal blood diet but the closest zoo was too far away. His hunger was almost unbearable. He couldn't wait much longer. He had to have some blood, now.

So he headed to the local hospital and stole some stored blood. They had enough. No one would miss the five bags… After he had stilled his hunger he decided to take a walk around in the hotel, of course with the intention of looking for Katherine.

* * *

Elena was lying in her bed, her diary next to her. It was now full of pages on which she described how much she missed Stefan and how mad she was at him for leaving her. She couldn't give him any credit for the safety reason. She wasn't afraid of anything with him by her side. Now with him gone she was. However not of those who found out about the fact that vampires were occupying the town but of the vampires themselves. She still had the necklace of verveine but it could be easily ripped off her neck and then she would be exposed to any threat a vampire posed. Compelling… biting… Had Stefan ever considered that? Probably not…

_You'll take it just fine._

Yeah, screw you, Stefan. I'm only crying all the time since you left, Elena thought frustrated.

A voice from downstairs distracted her.

"Elena you have visitors!"

Soon after that there was a knock and her bedroom door opened and Bonnie and Caroline entered.

"Hey, how are you?" Bonnie asked.

She and Caroline sat down on the bed beside her.

"It's Friday night, Elena," Caroline reminded her. "Don't tell me you're gonna stay here sulking like you did everyday this week."

"That's the plan," Elena replied.

"We're just worried about you, Elena," Bonnie explained. "You've been so different since Stefan left you."

"Yeah? Well, you should get used to it 'cause it's not gonna change until he comes back," Elena replied irritated.

"Oh, come on, Elena. There's a party going on at the grill," Caroline told her. "You really need to get out of here. It'll distract you from your misery. You're starting to drown in it like…"

Bonnie shot her a warning glance, making her shut up but Elena had heard enough.

"Like?" she snarled.

"Like last summer when your parents died." Caroline sighed. "I'm sorry, that came out wrong."

"What Caroline means is, life goes on and you shouldn't let it pass you by," Bonnie quickly added before Elena could explode.

"Maybe," Elena said slowly and emphatic. "I actually _want_ to drown in my misery like last summer."

Bonnie and Caroline had nothing to say to that and sighed helplessly.

Elena was pissed. So she wasn't even allowed to grief now? She was very disappointed by her friends. Caroline had always been blunt but mostly she was disappointed by Bonnie because it had been Elena who had helped her get over her grandmother's death. Elena was about to tell them to leave when she heard Aunt Jenna's voice from downstairs again.

"Elena, you have a visitor!"

Elena turned to Caroline.

"Did you bring Matt along?"

"No."

The girl exchanged a questioning look. The next moment the bedroom door opened…

"Damon!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing's really happening in this chapter. Damon's searching for Katherine and Elena is missing Stefan. I hope you'll like it anyway! I promise in the next chapter there's actually something going to happen and it will be really funny. :)


	4. Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, after that boring last chapter I have a better one for you now. Something's actually going to happen XD I had so much fun writing this chapter and I hope you'll laugh, too, every now and then^^ Enjoy

"Good evening, ladies."

"What are _you_ doing here?" Caroline snarled.

"Visiting," Damon answered matter-of-factly.

"You!" Bonnie growled and jumped to her feet. "How dare you come back?! How dare you look me in the eye?!"

"What?"

"Bonnie," Elena said warningly and got up herself. She put her hand on Bonnie's shoulder to calm her down. "Her grandma is dead," she told Damon.

"Oh." He understood. "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?!" Bonnie repeated in a high-pitched voice. "She was trembling and on the verge of tears. "You should be sorry!" It's your fault Grams is dead! You forced her to do this… thing and it killed her!"

Bonnie wanted to say "spell" but quickly chose a different word as Caroline didn't know what they did about a month ago and none of them wanted her to know it, either.

Again Elena explained the facts to Damon who looked slightly confused.

"She was already quite old–"

"She wasn't _that_ old!" corrected Bonnie.

"And this… thing," Elena continued. "It took her all of her nerves and strength."

"Oh," Damon said again. "I'm sorry. Really."

"You can stick it up your… Let's go, Caroline," Bonnie said and turned to Elena. "You coming with us?"

"Um…"

"I get it. See you around, Elena," Bonnie cut her off.

She and Caroline left the room. Damon sighed deeply.

"Phew…"

"I'm sorry," Elena apologized and sat down on her bed again. "I thought she'd gotten over it but when she saw you…"

"She blew up like a house full of gas," Damon exaggerated. "It's okay. I didn't think the old witch would die from it, though."

"Neither did I."

"Silence fell upon them for a moment until Elena spoke again.

"So… what are you doing here? I thought you were–"

"Visiting," Damon repeated. "But Stefan wasn't home so I came straight to you. I thought you might be able to tell me where he went?"

"No," Elena said sadly. "I've no idea."

"Too bad."

Elena didn't reply to that. She was silent, staring at the floor. Probably thinking of Stefan, Damon thought. He couldn't stand to see her like this. So depressed…

"You know, as much as I don't like them as they hate me," he said. "I agree with your friends on one thing, though. You really need to get out of the house."

And with that he pulled her up from the bed into his embrace and started to dance with her, turning and twirling her around.

"Uaah, Damon!" Elena squeaked in surprise. "Did you eavesdrop on us?"

"No need. You're voice flowed outside through the open window. I already heard you talking when I got out of the car."

He did that fifties move with her, eventually holding her loosely in his embrace so that she had to look up at him.

"Let's go out," he suggested. "You and me outside there. How's that sound?"

He pulled her up and put her down on the floor so that she could stand. Elena looked quite funny. Her hair was disheveled and she seemed to be slightly dizzy from dancing.

"I don't know…"

"You're busy?" he mocked grinning. "Writing in you diary? Oh come on, don't stand me up. It's Friday night. Let's go have some fun."

"Where do you want to go, anyway?" Elena asked, still indecisive.

"If I'm not mistaken there's a party at the grill, right? With music… dances… Sounds like fun to me. Doesn't it to you?"

Well, yes, somehow…"

"Great!" Damon exclaimed happily. "But you should change first. I'm not taking you in these clothes," he added, looking disgusted.

"Of course I'm going to change first. What – Damon, what are you doing?!"

As soon as Damon got her approval to his plans he headed for her wardrobe and started rummaging around. "Stop it! It's private!" Elena shouted embarrassed.

Damon ignored her and opened the drawer. There it was… lingerie and how beautiful it was!

"Oh, sexy."

"Damon!" Elena shouted emphatically, dragged him away from the wardrobe and pushed him to the door. "I'll go with you. I'll change now and I'll meet you downstairs, got it? And don't you dare to peep!"

"If I see something I haven't seen before I'll throw a–"

"Damon…!"

Elena was getting irritated and Damon didn't miss it.

"If I may make a recommendation. Take the red one. I'm sure it'll look beautiful on you. Oh and beneath those nice white… By the way is it Versace?"

"Get out!"

Damon laughed amusedly and left, closing the door behind him. He went downstairs where he found Jeremy playing games in the living room and Aunt Jenna working in the kitchen. He entered the kitchen.

"Um, Ms Gilbert?"

Jenny turned around with a warm smile on her lips.

"Don't be so formal. You can call me, Jenna," she offered.

He gladly did so. "Thanks, Jenna. Um, I'd like to take Elena out if that is alright with you?"

"Sure," Jenna agreed at once. "I'm glad someone is taking her out. She's been so miserable."

Damon smiled. "Is there any specific time for her to come home?"

"No," Jenna shook her head. "I know she's with you and that's enough. Just make sure she's in school on Monday," she added jokingly.

"That's not a problem," Damon replied grinning. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Damon," Jenna said smiling.

Damon turned around and walked into the living room to Jeremy and sat down beside him.

"Hey, Jeremy, how you doin'?"

"I'm fine, thanks," Jeremy answered smiling. "You?"

"I'm fine," Damon said casually. "Hey, um, can you do me a favor?"

"Sure."

* * *

Half an hour later Damon and Elena reached the grill. When they got out of the car Damon offered Elena his arm for her to take which she did hesitantly. The grill was already full of people. As usually everyone was there, meeting people and having fun. The first thing Damon and Elena did was getting something to drink.

"What do you want?" Damon asked.

"Anything without alcohol," Elena replied.

"You sure? Last time you drank it was fun."

"Yeah and I could swear my head was going to burst the next morning." Damon laughed. "I'll have a coke."

"Make it two," Damon told the bartender. Elena looked at him half-amused. "What?"

"No alcohol for you, either?" she grinned.

"No, I have to drive you home safely, right?" he said passing her the coke.

"I thought it wouldn't affect you," Elena said, taking her coke.

"That would be awesome."

* * *

In a corner of the grill Caroline and Bonnie were watching them suspiciously.

"Want to drown in her misery, huh?" Caroline said, pissed.

"She looks pretty elated if you ask me."

"I can't believe she chose him over us," Bonnie gnarled. "Traitor."

"What does she see in him, anyway?" Caroline asked, shaking her head. Bonnie gave her a look. "What?"

"Nothing…"

* * *

"Wanna dance?" Damon asked.

"Oh no, rather not. I'm still dizzy from our dance in my room," Elena said grinning and took a sip of her coke.

Suddenly a cell phone started ringing. It was Damon's who took it out of his pocket and glanced at the display.

"Oh, this is important. I've got to take it," he said. "I'll be right back. Don't run away."

"I'll be a good girl and wait for you," Elena promised half-laughing.

Damon left her side and she let her gaze wander around the room. She saw Caroline and Bonnie standing in a corner and decided to join them.

"Hey," she greeted them, smiling. "You're having fun?"

"Less fun than you, I guess," Caroline shot back and crossed her arms, looking sternly at her. "I thought you wouldn't go out."

"I really wasn't going to. Damon persuaded me," Elena explained.

"So he better then?" Bonnie asked fiercely. "Better than us?"

"No!"

"Did you forget what he did?!"

"No, of course not."

"Then why are you with him?"

"It's some kind of a deal," explained Elena. "I agreed on hanging out with him because I need him to do something for me."

"And what's that?"

"Yeah, what's that?"

Damon was back and looked at her questioningly. Elena looked at him and found that he looked slightly pissed. How much of their conversation had he heard?"

"Well, we'll see you at school, Elena," Bonnie said.

"Bye, Elena," Caroline said.

The two girls quickly walked away. They couldn't stand to be with Damon in a room. Elena felt a little bit guilty for choosing Damon over them. She understood their anger. Almost as if to find and answer to her problem she looked at Damon who didn't looked pissed anymore.

"Hey, how about me fulfilling my promise tonight," he asked, catching her off guard.

"Which promise?"

" _The_ promise. You know, four weeks ago when I said we should go on another road trip together, when you were all whiny whiny about me leaving."

"I wasn't whiny," Elena corrected him.

"Oh yes, you were."

"No, I wasn't."

"Anyway, what do you think?" Damon finished this useless discussion and demanded an answer from her.

"I don't know…" she began hesitantly.

"Don't tell me you've got plans for the weekend 'cause I know you don't."

"What if Stefan comes back?"

"He won't. Trust me, he won't."

"How do you know? Did you two talk?" Elena asked.

"No, we didn't." Damon answered. "Look, Stefan's not the type to leave and return a week later. Last time he left he came back fifty years later."

Elena stared at him.

"Don't give me that look. I'm sure he'll come back before the fifty years have passed," he assured her. "But not all too soon. So?"

She was still not sure about going, killing each and every one of Damon's nerves.

"What have you got to lose?"

"Why are you so stubborn?" Elena inquired suspiciously.

"Okay," Damon gave in. "Okay, you've got me. I've got an ulterior motive… I'm bored."

Elena laughed.

"Okay, fine, how long will we be–"

"We'll leave now and we'll be back Sunday night," he told her.

"Okay, but I have to go home first, ask Jenna for permission and get my stuff."

"No need. It's already done."

"How?"

"When you were dressing up I asked your aunt for permission and while you were a good girl waiting for me I met your brother outside. He brought your stuff just like I asked him to," Damon explained.

"You let him pack my clothes?! He's my brother!"

"Would you have preferred if _I_ packed your clothes?"

"No!"

"So, what's the problem? Let's go!"

He grabbed her hand and pulled her with him.

"What about your stuff?" Elena asked when they reached the car.

"It's already in the back of the car," he said, opening the door on the passenger's side.

"Thanks," she said and got into the car. The next moment Damon was in the car, too. "You planned this."

"As spontaneously as ever," he smirked and started the car.

They left Mystic Falls and hit the freeway. Elena couldn't help but feel excited just like the last time she had hung out with Damon. She knew hanging out with him was actually fun so she had something to look forward to. She deliberately glanced at him every now and then and smiled. He didn't miss it and smiled smugly back.


	5. Questions and Answers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all your comments and kudos. I am glad you want to read more. So here you go ~ Well, I haven't got much to say about this chapter. The road trip goes on and Damon and Elena run out of stuff to talk about. Enjoy!

"Hit the road, Jack. And don't you come back. No more no more no more no more!"

The blue Mustang rushed along the freeway up north. Damon had turned on the car radio and since then he and Elena had sung loudly along. At some point Damon had lowered his voice to be able to better listen to Elena's as he liked to listen to her singing.

The song ended and another one started. A slow one. Time for them to catch their breaths.

"The Grill is going to need a new bartender if anyone finds out he mixes alcohol into the coke," Damon joked.

"I'm not drunk," Elena made clear. "Just…"

"Having a good time?" he offered.

"Yeah."

"See, nothing's better than a road trip with a hot-looking, smart and charming vampire like me."

She giggles. "Um, sure."

"You don't think I'm hot?" Damon said, pretending to sound broken-hearted. "After all we've been through. You disappoint me," he sniffed but quickly regained composure. "I don't believe you. You think I'm hot. I know you do. I'm hot, right? Just little bit, right? Come on, admit it. I already know you think so."

Elena laughed. "A little bit." Damon's face lit up. "A tiny little bit."

"I knew it."

Elena laughed again and glance out of the window. "By the way, where are we going?"

"I don't know. You tell me."

"You're heading anywhere in particular?"

"Right now we're heading north. You decide it. Where do you wanna go?" Damon said.

"Mmm. Right now, where are we?"

"Close to West Virginia, I think."

"Would we make it in time to go to New York?" she asked hopefully.

Damon pulled a face. "New York…? Yeah, I think so. But that's not a good idea."

"Why not?"

"Just accept it. We're not going to New York, okay?" he barked.

Elena stared at him, startled by his sudden anger. She didn't want him to get mad so she quickly thought of a different place they could go to.

"We could say hello to Bree," she suggested.

"No, we can't," Damon contradicted. They couldn't say hello to Bree because she was dead. Damon had killed her himself and he didn't want Elena to know it. "How about Florida?" he suggested now. "Ever been there?"

"Not yet."

"Would you like to go there?" he asked.

"Sure but you have to turn–"

"That's not a problem," he cut her off and turned around on the freeway. Now they were heading down south.

For the next half an hour they didn't talk. Elena was still slightly startled because Damon had barked at her for apparently no reason and Damon was quiet because he was lost in thoughts about Katherine. He had remembered her instantly when Elena had brought up New York. After all New York wasn't far away from Washington D.C. …

"Damon?" Elena's voice brought him back to the present.

"What is it?" he asked exhausted.

"I know it's none of my business," she started carefully. "But I wondered why you came back early. Did anything happen? How did the search go? Did you find Katherine?"

Damon exhaled deeply. He felt his blood already starting to boil. He tried to calm himself. His anger wasn't directed toward Elena.

"Seriously, Elena," he said slowly and calm. "If I think about Katherine now I'll kill us, no you, because I'll crash with high speed into the next approaching car."

Elena stared at him. "That bad, huh?" she quietly mumbled.

Damon didn't reply to it but he wanted the conversation to keep going so he asked a question himself.

"Why did Stefan leave? I have no clue."

Elena crossed her arms and stared out of the window.

"We both have something we don't want to talk about," she just said.

Damon nodded. He knew the answer anyway. Stefan had sent him a text message while he had been in Washington saying "I need to leave. If you come back before me please take care of Elena."

That was exactly what he was doing. It was the reason why he was hanging out with Elena. He was taking care of her.

"Back at the Grill I heard you talking to Bonnie and Caroline," he suddenly started, his eyes fixed at the road. Out of the corner of his eye he saw her shifting uncomfortably in her seat. "You need me to do something?" he repeated her words from hours ago, trying not to sound angry. Actually, he had thought she enjoyed his company and wasn't spending time with him because she tried to get something out of it.

"Kind of," Elena replied. "I want to ask you something. Something that's very important to me and that Stefan would never tell me."

Damon's relaxed. She just wanted to ask him something. If that was it she could ask him whatever she wanted.

"I see," he said. "Go ahead."

"I've been thinking about this for some time now," she told him. "Ever since Stefan told me I was adopted. Well, it's more than obvious that I look like Katherine and I've been wondering why. Who was my mother? What connection did she have to Katherine? What connection do I have to her?"

Damon's fingers tightly clenched the steering wheel. Elena was bringing up another thing he neither wanted to think nor to talk about.

"Elena, I'm not like my brother," he began. "I won't lie to you. Not even for your safety. I'll be honest with you." He paused for a moment as if to find the right words. "Yes, I know what the connection is. I've done some research. And no, I won't tell you. You can shout at me, be mad at me forever but it all won't make me change my mind. I won't share this bit of information with you."

He turned his head to look at Elena. She looked like she was just slapped in the face. She seemed to be struggling with herself. A part of her probably wanted to force the answer out of him but in the end she just accepted it.

"Okay. What if I find it out by myself?"

"I hope you never will. Trust me, it's better this way."

"You're not any better than Stefan," she told him. "You're both perfect secret keepers."

"Look, I didn't want to know it, okay?" he said growing irritated. "I wish I never found out. So just forget it."

Elena was pissed. She had actually thought Damon would be frank with her but he, too, had a reason to keep the truth from her. At least he was straight with her but it wasn't much of a comfort to her.

So much for the good time, Damon thought. He knew she would have asked him eventually as she was right about Stefan. He'd rather die than tell her the truth. And Damon was almost like him. He wouldn't let her know for as long as possible. He glanced over at her. She was staring outside, her arms crossed and pissed. He didn't blame her. He couldn't stand to be left out, either. He was trying to find the right words to soother her anger but he didn't succeed in it. That was Stefan's talent. Somehow his brother could always cheer her up. Why couldn't, too?

"Do you want me to drive you back home?" he asked already preparing himself for the answer.

Elena was about to snap "Yes!" but she couldn't. Sure, she would be rid of Damon whom she couldn't stand to see right now but it wouldn't change anything. She would still be mad at him like forever and afterwards she would be sad because she would be all alone in her room again, missing and waiting for Stefan. If she stayed she'd give Damon a chance to distract her and make up for not telling her by letting her have a good time with lots of fun.

"No," she said eventually. "I don't."

Damon was relieved to hear it and he decided to let her forget all of her unanswered questions by giving her the best time of her life. Florida seemed to be an appropriate place to achieve it.

"Thanks," he said and gave her a small smile.

"I'm sorry," she replied. "I shouldn't have asked you. You told me you didn't want to think of Katherine and I brought her up."

"It's okay," Damon replied, partly shocked that she was blaming herself so much. "You have a right to know it." And then he did something he was sure he would regret later. "I'll tell you… later… sometime, okay? Not now but I promise I will." As I'm the only one who can answer your questions, he added in his thoughts. He smiled slightly when he saw Elena's face lighten up.

"Thank you, Damon. I really appreciate that," she said gratefully.

"You're welcome." Elena leaned happily back into the seat and yawned heartily. "You can take a nap. It's gonna take some hours to get to Florida."

"Yes, I will," she decided and closed her eyes. "Good night."

"Sweet dreams."

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Elena smile.


	6. Florida Part 1 (Disney World, Sea World)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to work this weekend so you get to enjoy the two new chapters already today on a Friday.

The remaining hours to Florida passed by quickly, at least for Elena who didn't wake up before the morning.

"Mornin' sleepy head," Damon said even before she had opened her eyes.

"Mornin'…"

" _Still_ tired?" He raised a brow.

"You're a hand full. You wear me out," she countered.

"Well, then I guess I'll probably have to carry you to bed tomorrow night."

"Possibly." She glanced outside. "Are we nearly there?"

"Half an hour till we arrive at the hotel."

" _Hotel?!_ "

"What did you expect?" he asked and laughed when he caught the astonished expression on her face. "We'll definitely not sleep in the car. I've tried it before and my back hurt for a week."

"Fine, but don't embarrass me."

Damon didn't reply to that. Instead he grinned mischievously.

* * *

When they arrived at the hotel half an hour later Elena was shocked. Damon had picked the probably most expensive hotel all around Florida.

"You must be crazy! How are we gonna afford this?!" she demanded.

"You know I had this grandfather, Damon Salvatore and he had quite a rich father and as luck would have it, I inherited all of his fortune and now I can live on the interest." He caught her still incredulous expression. "Don't feel uncomfortable. This stay will hardly dig a hole into my pile of gold." He blinked.

"But why did you pick the most expensive one of all hotels?" Elena inquired shaking her head.

"That's the disadvantage that comes with wealth," he explained. "You get used to a high standard."

"Impossible…"

Damon laughed.

They headed for the reception and Damon couldn't but book the best and definitely most expensive suite the hotel could offer. It turned out it was already taken. Yet they got it because Damon _kindly asked_ the receptionist to take another look at his booking list. He did and fortunately he had obviously made a mistake. So he handed Damon the key to their suite and wished them a nice stay. Of course Elena didn't approve of Damon's means.

"Don't give me that look. I'm a vampire, remember? I'm the pure evil. It's too late to re-educate me."

He grinned smugly, leaving Elena speechless but when they entered the suite she quickly found her voice again.

"Oh my god! What is this?! The president's suite?!"

"Yeah, I think so," Damon answered casually. The suite had two separate bedrooms and a parlor with fireplace and minibar. "Impressed?" Damon seemed to be amused. "Two separate bedrooms. I guessed you'd like that."

Elena gave him a sharp look. What did he think? That she would happily share a bedroom or even bed with him? Certainly not!

"Not really," she lied, answering his question and threw dropped her bag onto the bed. "So what are we gonna do, now?"

"Let's check out the city. Come on," he said, grabbed her hand to drag her along.

"Wait!" She stopped him.

"What?"

"I'm gonna change first. I can hardly check out the city in this dress. I'll meet you outside."

"Fine but hurry," he told her and left.

Elena said down on the bed and opened her sports bag. It contained lingerie, two shirts, a skirt and a pair of trousers. At least Jeremy had packed decent things, although she felt sure Damon had told her brother exactly which clothes he should pack. She went for a blue shirt and the pair of jeans. As decent as possible, she told herself. When she was ready she quickly sent Jeremy a message that she would talk to him about his complicity in Damon's plans. He answered her soon after, asking her to say hi to Damon for him. She only shook her head.

* * *

Florida was definitely a place worth going to, Elena thought. It had so many things to see and enjoy. They took a ride around the city and hit the main streets. Being a girl Elena would have given everything for a real shopping adventure which would end with several full bags of clothes but although she was quite impressed at what Florida offered she did not forget why she was here and who was with her. Damon. If it hadn't been for him, they wouldn't be here. It had been his idea to go to Florida. They were here to spend some quality time together and she was enjoying it even without the opportunity of shopping. While they were walking down the street she glanced at Damon. His expression was almost bored. He had probably been to Florida a thousand times of his vampire existence. She should be grateful to him for taking her to this beautiful place, Orlando, Florida and she was. She planned to make up for it at the end of their trip but she didn't know how yet. When they reached the end of the main street, before she could ask where they would go Damon surprised her with his destination. Elena stopped in front of the gates, an amazed, childlike expression on her face.

"Disney World?!"

"I guessed you'd like that. Besides, Florida is partly famous for the park." He shrugged.

"Of course I like it! I loved their movies when I was younger! Elena replied happily.

Damon smiled smugly. "I guessed so."

That was what he had been trying to achieve. Seeing Elena as happy as a child who had just gotten a new toy. When he saw the happiness reach her eyes he couldn't help but smile, too.

As if it wasn't terrific enough already, Damon paid for her, telling her he would be offended if she tried to pay it back. "Be my guest," he said when they entered the park. "And now let's have some fun!"

They had lots of fun at Disney World. There were attractions for everyone making sure that none of the guest would die of boredom. First they entered the Hall of Presidents in which you could see a wax statue of each and every president of the United States, watch a film about the origins of America, the formation of the Constitution and the struggle the country had to fight. Elena had wanted to go there.

"You really are into history, aren't you?" Damon said appreciatorily.

"Well, I have to broaden my horizon to keep up with you and Stefan. He made quite an impression on me during our first history class together. He even corrected Mr. Tanner who looked like he was about to kill Stefan then."

She laughed but only to conceal her sadness. It hurt to talk about Stefan during his absence. She missed him very much but she pulled herself together for Damon. He didn't deserve to be spoilt the fun for everything he had done so far.

"Besides, you're right. I am into history," she added.

"You know him?" Damon inquired, pointing at the statue of Abraham Lincoln.

"Sure, who doesn't?"

"I actually saw him once."

"You didn't!" Elena said in awe.

"Yes, I did. Never met him in person, of course. Back then in 1864 Father went to Washington to vote and took us along. We were supposed to witness Lincoln losing the elections. Father, the rich bastard he was, didn't approve of Lincoln. However, as we all know, Lincoln won the elections for the second time. I still recall Father's expressions in that moment. He looked like he had been smacked straight into the face."

"I always envy you," Elena said.

"For what? For seeing my Father's expression?" Damon asked confused.

"No," Elena corrected. "For witnessing the elections back then."

"Oh, it wasn't that interesting," Damon dismissed it. "Politics is actually pretty boring."

He gave her a smile which she returned before they continued their tour. Their next stop was at the "Test Track". It was absolutely something for Damon. A high-speed-vehicle-simulation ride at up to 60 miles an hour. Vampires were used to speed so Damon was more than in for a ride but Elena refused.

"Oh, come on. It isn't _that_ fast," he tried to encourage her. "Really. I'll hold you so you won't get thrown out in a bend."

Elena still wasn't persuaded.

"If you get out of the cart at the end of the ride, regretting you let yourself in for it, you may let me pay for it," he added.

"I'd do it anyway," Elena replied. "Okay, fine. I better not regret this," she threatened him.

He smirked and let her get into the cart first.

It turned out to be a hell of a ride. Way to fast to Elena's taste but not unbearable as she constantly told herself. Damon was obviously enjoying it and she pulled herself together to not spoil his fun. In the end however she was glad to get out of the cart. During the ride she had lost her balance. Already the first step was placed wrong and she stumbled forward. Fortunately Damon was there to catch her.

"You okay?" he inquired worriedly.

"Yeah. Just a little dizzy," she answered, clinging on to him as he was supporting her. "Thanks," she said when the dizziness had subsided and let go of him.

"Uh-oh. I'm doomed," he suspected.

"No," she replied to his surprise. "It was cool, really, but a little to fast to my taste."

"Let's go get something to eat," Damon decided. "To increase your blood pressure."

They continued and headed for the first snack bar they came across. They ordered burgers like they had in Atlanta and coke. The sugar helped to increase Elena's blood pressure.

"You're better now?" Damon inquired.

"Yes, much better." She smiled.

"Shall we move on?"

"Sure."

They returned to the regular path through park past the numerous attractions. The next one they checked out was "Soarin'", a simulated flight over the State of California, featuring San Francisco and its famous Golden Gate Bridge, Napa Valley, Monterrey, San Diego, Los Angeles and Malibu and much more. It was a welcome and peaceful experience unlike the fast ride before.

"I guess I know where we'll go on our next trip," Damon grinned when he caught Elena's dreamy expression and she nodded in agreement.

The last attraction that caught their interest was "The American Idol Experience". Actually they had planned to just take a look around, watch people perform and maybe even vote for one but then Damon had an idea and Elena was trapped.

"Do you like to sing?" he wanted to know.

"Well, I used to sing in the choir at school," she evaded. "But I quit it like I quit cheerleading."

"Front row or back row?"

"Front row," she admitted hesitantly. She had a hunch what he was driving at but she would never, for nothing in the world…

Five minutes later she desperately tried to remember why she was standing onstage now. Everything she remembered were Damon's kind, encouraging words that had made her agree eventually. She knew he wasn't compelling her. She had agreed out of her own free will.

And now she was standing onstage with the microphone in her hands, nervously looking around. She didn't want to embarrass herself in front of Damon and all the other people around. She hardly had time to prepare herself because the music had already started.

 _Shit!_ , she thought. _I'm so gonna regret this._

At least she was lucky regarding the song choice. There was actually one song she dared to sing.

Damon was amused. He wanted Elena to loosen up a little. That was why he had persuaded her to go onstage and sing. Even if the performance would turn out as a disaster she would still have fun doing it. And something told him that it wouldn't turn out bad at all. He was quite impressed by her song choice. He knew the song and he knew it wasn't easy to sing but Tori Amos' voice was similar to Elena's. Maybe that was why she had chosen it. Elena was nervous. Everyone could see it. She fiddled with the microphone, looking helplessly around until the music started. Then suddenly, she was completely focused on the song as her urge to prove herself was stronger than her fear. And once she had started to sing all of her insecurity was gone. Damon was very pleased. He had not been mistaken. This would turn out great. He smiled and closed his eyes to let himself get lost into the music and Elena's voice.

Once she had started to sing Elena felt much better. She wasn't afraid anymore. For the next four minutes she focused on the song and let the music guide her.

_On my way up North_

_Up on the Ventura I pulled back the hood and I was talking to you_

_And I knew then it would be a life long thing but I didn't know that we_

_We could break a silver lining_

_And I'm so sad_

_Like a good book I can't put this day back_

_It's a_ _sorta fairytale with you_

_It's a_ _sorta fairytale with you_

_Things you said that day_

_Up on the 101 the girl had come undone_

_I tried to downplay it with a bet about us_

_You said that you'd take it as long as I could_

_I could not erase it_

_And I'm so sad_

_Like a good book I can't put this day back_

_It's a_ _sorta fairytale with you_

_It's a_ _sorta fairytale with you_

_And I ride along side_

_And I rode along side you then_

_And I rode along side 'til you lost me there in the open road_

_And I rode along side 'til the honey spread itself so thin_

_For me to break your bread_

_For me to take your word_

_I had to steal it_

_Way up North_ _I took my day_

_All in all was a pretty nice day_

_And I put the hood right back where you could taste heaven perfectly_

_Feel out the summer breeze_

_Didn't know when we'd be back and I_

_I don't, didn't think we'd end up like this_

_And I'm so sad_

_Like a good book I can't put this day back_

_It's a_ _sorta fairytale with you_

_It's a_ _sorta fairytale with you_

_It's a_ _sorta fairytale with you_

_I could pick back_ _it up whenever I feel_

_It's a_ _sorta fairytale with you_

_It's a_ _sorta fairytale with you_

_It's a_ _sorta fairytale with you_

When the music faded away the people around her, including Damon broke into cheering and clapping. Elena was their star. She was overwhelmed by the positive reaction of the audience. She'd never expected them to like her singing at all. When she got offstage he votes were shown on the screen. Full score! She blushed. At once she was surrounded by several people Damon, some 'fans' who wanted her signature and the director of the attraction who offered her an exclusive Dream Ticket, a straight ticket to the next American Idol season. Elena declined both the signings and the ticket politely but firmly.

She searched Damon and told him that she wanted to leave. He nodded and led her through the crow outside.

"You were awesome," he told her on their way to the exits.

"Not you, too," Elena groaned.

"No, I'm serious. Singing is definitely your thing," he insisted. "I must know 'cause I'm very picky but you've got a beautiful voice. I already noticed it on the ride and–"

He shut his mouth before he could tell her even much more than he wanted her to know and he saw her blush at his words so he changed the subject, pretending nothing happened.

"So is there any place you want to go?"

"Mm, I've never been here before so I have no idea," she replied.

"Then I'll choose again. You'll love it."

"More than Disney World," she grinned.

"You tell me," he said, grinning back.

Another surprise, Elena thought exhausted. The ride in the cart and the fuzz about her performance had worn her out.

"But make it something nice, please or you'll really have to carry me to bed tomorrow night," she requested.

Damon didn't tell her that he actually wouldn't mind but respected her request and chose something for their next destination that couldn't be more peaceful. Sea World.

And again Elena was amazed. She had never expected Damon to have such a soft side and as if he was reading her mind he said "Girls like dolphins, right?"

Of course he was right, at least Elena like dolphins and all the other cute creatures. Boys like Damon were more into sharks and killer whales. So Sea World was something for both of them again.

Elena only listened half-heartedly to Damon's sermon on sharks and their similarity to vampires. Both reacted strongly to human blood and fed on humans if they wanted. That was everything she actually caught. She was almost dying to see the dolphins. Luckily for them there was a show starting soon. She didn't want to miss it and urged Damon forward. When they reached the tank they were almost ten minutes early and had the best position to watch. Just before the show it started getting crowded. Many families with little girls or couples were anticipating the show.

The show was terrific, Elena thought. She really enjoyed it. The crowd was shouting ohhhs and ahhhhs when they saw the cute dolphins and it got even better. The people in the first row, who were the closest to the animals were allowed to stroke them much to Elena's pleasure. At the end of the show she was incredibly happy and overjoyed. She was so grateful to Damon for having taken her here that she was about to hug him. It took her all of her self-restraint not to do it and prevent another embarrassing moment. So she just enjoyed each minute. Her gaze met Damon's and she saw him smile slightly. She didn't know why he was doing it but it made her even happier. They stayed at Sea World until the sun started setting, then they went back to the car.

"Oh, Damon, how can I ever make up for this?" Elena wondered loudly.

"Will you please stop it?" Damon said. "I told you, you don't need to make up for anything."

"But it's so much!"

"It's standard," Damon corrected her. "Don't bring it up again. Really, it's okay."

They got into the car. Damon started it and drove towards the sunset.

"I almost don't dare to ask what's next. You always have something even better in store," said Elena.

Damon smiled smugly. "Just wait and see."

She got it. He wanted to surprise her again. He seemed to enjoy it. So Elena leaned back into the comfortable seat, looking forward to the next point on his gorgeous list.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so, here's the thing. I have never been to Disney World. I did some research for this chapter and worked my way through their OHP. Back in 2011 when I wrote this chapter, mind you. I hope I chose the right attractions for them. It was really difficult to chose them because you can never be sure what they would really like. I hope I had a good guess and that it's not too unrealistic.
> 
> By the way, the song Elena is singing is called "Sorta Fairytale" by Tori Amos. Actually the song is much longer with more lyrics but there's also another version which is short and compact like the one above. 
> 
> The moment you read this note the next chapter is already online. :)


	7. Florida Part 2 True Feelings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of you or probably all of you have been wondering what happened when Damon was looking for Katherine in D.C. This secret is being revealed now in flash back in italics!
> 
> Well, I haven't got much more to say aside from: Enjoy!

Wherever Damon was heading for, it was outside of Orlando. This ride was longer than the ones to Disney World and Sea World. They drove for miles and miles and Elena kept wondering where Damon was taking her to. The sun had nearly set. There was only a shimmer of orange in the darkening sky. She guessed they had been driving for an hour without talking to each other, just listening to the radio. Damon was focused. His eyes never left the road. The silence between them was comfortable but gradually Elena got impatient. She turned her gaze to the front and could see the coast a few miles ahead of them. Suddenly she had an idea. But Damon wouldn't or would he?

Damon never turned, he was driving straight towards the coast and Elena started to trust her feelings. Still when Damon actually stopped at the coast she held her breath. As if he knew what she was thinking he gave her a small smile.

They got out of the car and walked towards the beach. Elena was mesmerized by the view in front of her. The orange-red fireball-like sun was hovering just above the surface of the sea. It was a very romantic atmosphere which made her wonder why Damon would take a walk on the beach with her. Again Elena felt like he was reading her mind because he answered her unspoken question.

"Sometimes I go to the beach and take a walk to catch my breath," he told her. "The silence is really helpful if you want to think about certain things and make important decisions."

He glanced at Elena who was looking astonished at him. So he actually did have a soft side!

"What?" he asked half-amused. "Didn't think I'd do that, did you?"

"No – Yes – I don't know," she stammered.

He smiled smugly. "But don't you dare to say a word about it to my brother," he added menacingly.

"I'll take it to the grave," she replied and they both had to laugh at the ambiguity.

"Then I guess I can share some more secrets with you 'cause you won't die so soon."

"You think so?"

"You're pretty tough and even if you get into serious danger you have the Salvatore brothers to protect you," he explained earnestly.

"For the time being just one of them," she reminded him sadly.

"I'm working for two," he told her and was happy when he saw the corners of her mouth turn slightly up.

The sun had set completely now and darkness replaced it with the cold of the night. A slight breeze blew past them and made Elena shiver. Damon didn't miss it. He took off his leather jacket and put it over her shoulders and if this wasn't gentlemen-like already she put his arm around her and pulled her close to her. Elena was surprised by it but welcomed the warmth he was giving her. Yet she felt a little bit guilty. She could have brought a jacket herself.

"Aren't you cold now?" she inquired.

"No, I'm fine," he assured her, smiling. The straddled for another mile, just enjoying the moment until Damon turned to her again. "Let's go back to the hotel."

"You have another surprise for me?" she wanted to know.

"No," he answered. "Or does a bar surprise you?"

"Not really," she grinned.

So they went back to the car to return to the hotel. One hour later they arrived there and went down into the lounge. They took a seat and ordered some drinks. Actually Elena hadn't wanted to drink but being with Damon she could do everything and she liked that freedom. She had a sweet cocktail while Damon had a beer. After relaxing a little on the sofa Elena was in for some fun, remembering their trip to Atlanta.

"I'm bored," she pouted.

"I know how to change it," he replied, got up, pulled her up from the sofa and led her to the dance floor.

Elena still remembered Damon's way of dancing pretty well and opened her mouth to refuse but then she no longer protested. In fact Elena liked the music playing in the bar. It made her want to move and Damon certainly knew how to do it. He turned and twirled her around until she felt terribly dizzy and told him to stop. That was around midnight.

"Let's call it a day," Damon decided, took her hand and led her out of the lounge.

They took the elevator to their suite and settled in Elena's bedroom. Damon slumped on her bed and stretched himself. Elena sat down beside him and took off her shoes. Her feet slightly hurt from dancing so wildly with Damon. It had been some time since she had danced longer than one song.

"You tired?" she asked Damon who had closed his eyes.

"Not really. You?"

"No," she smiled. "On the contrary, I feel pretty elated." He smiled. "Thank you for everything, Damon."

"Ah ah ah," what did I tell you?"

"I'm just thanking you," she insisted. "I'm happy that you convinced me to go on this trip with you. You sure know how to make a girl happy."

Damon didn't reply to that and Elena started to regret what she had said. Usually she would have never dared to say something like this if it wasn't for the alcohol.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "Forget–"

"You think so?" he interrupted her.

"What?"

"You really think I can make a girl happy?" he repeated.

"Yeah, sure, why not?"

Damon opened his eyes but didn't look at her. Instead her stared off into emptiness.

"I think you're alone in that," he mumbled.

He had had many girls in his life and afterlife, mostly to have some fun but he didn't think that any of these girls enjoyed being with him.

Elena felt uncomfortable. She regretted having started a topic which was obviously causing Damon pain. She had a hunch as to what he was thinking about and soon he confirmed it by saying it out loud.

"Kath wasn't happy with me," he sighed.

Elena felt even guiltier now. Damon was still hurt by Katherine. It was still haunting him and it seemed like it had gotten worse with time. She felt deeply sorry for Damon and wanted to help him get over his grief. But how? She knew that it helped some people to just talk about it. It seemed to be the right way to help Damon, too, because he didn't have anyone to talk to. His pride didn't let him talk to Stefan about his problems and aside from Stefan he had nobody else.

Just her.

"Damon," she began hesitantly. "What happened while you were gone searching for Katherine?"

Damon didn't answer at once. He took his time until he was ready to talk about what had been bothering him for so long.

"It wasn't easy to find her," he started. "I guess she didn't want to be found. She often changed her whereabouts but I found her eventually… in Washington D.C. I checked in in the same hotel she was living in. My room was on the same floor as hers… I didn't see her during the day and in the evening I began looking for her."

* * *

_Damon went down the stairs into the_ _lounge. You could here many voices talking. He pricked his ears and tried to make out Katherine's voice. The closer he approached the lounge the more difficult it became and when he entered it, it became impossible. So he relied on his eyes and searched for her in the crowd. His eyes scanned the room and eventually found someone who looked quite similar to her._

_The woman was sitting at the counter next to fat man who looked like a congressman. Damon took a seat that offered him a prefect view on them. He saw the woman the hand of the politician and gently stroking the back of it. The sight made Damon feel sick. The man looked like he was forty years older than her (which wouldn't mean anything considering Katherine how old Katherine was now but still). It didn't take Damon much time to conclude that she was his mistress._

_After a few minutes the woman emptied her glass of wine and kissed the old man goodbye. He obviously couldn't get enough of her as he grabbed her butt and squeezed it tightly._

_Damon was about to puke. Thank god he hadn't ordered a drink. He averted his gaze and waited for the woman to pass him by. One minute more and he slowly followed her._

_She left the hotel and stepped outside on the dark street. She was heading somewhere in particular. She never stopped for look around so she must have walked this way many times before. Following her Damon wondered where she was going and was shocked when she turned into an alley and stepped into the darkest district of D.C. The district of criminals and whores._ What the hell is she doing there? _he desperately wondered._

 _She headed straight for a bar which looked really dirty even from outside and Damon had a very bad feeling. It turned out his feelings didn't trick him. It was a table dance bar. He couldn't believe his eyes. Was Katherine meeting someone here? As cruel as the thought was, considering her relationship with the congressman. He entered the bar and lost her in the crowd. He didn't get nervous. Somehow he knew he would see her again soon. His bad feeling increased and he begged_ God no, please no.

_But no one listened to his prayers. Five minutes later she came back into his view, joining the other table-dancers. Apparently she was the favorite of the disgusting men down her feet. When she appeared all the men started cheering. The woman who looked so similar to Katherine seemed to enjoy it and began to move her body in sexy ways, turning on the men._

_At this point Damon had seen enough. He averted his gaze and made his way to the exit. Outside on the street he took a deep breath._

It's not Kath. It's not Kath. It's not her _, he kept telling himself. It couldn't be her. It wasn't her style… or was it? How much had she changed over the years? He understood the thing with the congressman. She put up with him because he had power and money. So that part about her hadn't changed. Back then she had put up with the Salvatores for the same reason. It was no secret. But why the bar? Why selling her body to such low, disgusting scum? It had looked like she actually had enjoyed being the queen for the many…_

_He suddenly remembered some words he had heard before from Pearl and Stefan._

She had him under her spell like everybody else.

Our love for Katherine wasn't real, Damon. She compelled us.

No! _Damon thought desperately. She had never compelled him. He had loved her because he had wanted to, because she had meant something to him…_

_But apparently she had really not returned his feelings and why should she have? Didn't she have a great substitute for him? A bunch of substitutes! Damon got angry. He felt betrayed by her, like she was cheating on him. She probably didn't even remember him at all. He didn't want to imagine how many men had made her forget about him. It was disgusting. She was disgusting. What had she become? A succubus? Yeah, she was nothing more than that. A monster which turned on poor men like him who pathetically fell in love with her._

_He had seen enough. He wanted to leave. Far away from all of this. He wanted to forget about everything… about her… but he couldn't. He needed certainty that she had forgotten him, that he had never meant anything to her… So he went back to the hotel and waited for her to come back. He waited hours, trying to prepare some things he would tell her._

_Then after midnight he felt her presence approach. He directed his gaze to the entrance of the hotel. Katherine was just coming in. Thank god she was alone. She bid the doorman and the receptionist, who bowed elegantly, goodnight. She smiled turned her gaze to Damon who was sitting casually in the armchair next to the elevators._

_"I remember you," she told him when she had reached him. Damon's heart started pounding faster. Maybe there was still hope. "You've been following me tonight."_

_"Why not," he replied smiling. "You're a beautiful woman."_

_She giggles like a little girl, making Damon feel sick again. "Let me walk you to your room," he offered and got up._

_They took the elevator to their floor and continued their small talk._

_"You're not like the others," she observed. "Different somehow."_

_"You don't miss a thing. I think_ _you know what makes me different?"_

_"I think I think so, too," she said sweetly. "What brings you here?"_

_"You," he told her directly to catch her off guard but if he had she hid it pretty well. "I remember you too," he continued. "From about 145 years ago."_

_She looked at him, slowly realizing what time he was talking about._

_"It was 1864 if I remember it correctly?" she said, giving him her sweetest smile. "And your name was?"_

_Her words hit him like slap in the face. So she really didn't remember him… He hadn't been special enough to stick in her mind._

_"Salvatore," he answered, trying to keep the anger out of his voice. "_ Damon _Salvatore," he added, stressing his first name._

_Her face lit up. "Ah, now I remember you! I'm sorry, it's been a long time," she apologized but Damon didn't accept it._

_"No problem," he said through gritted teeth._

_"How's Stefan?" she wanted to know next and hit Damon another time._

_"He's fine," he told her with false kindness._

_"Give him my best," she said. "Well, you came for me, Damon?" she picked up his statement from earlier. "May I say Damon?" she added politely._

_"Sure," he agreed but would've rather said no. "You're right I came for no one but you."_

_"I'm flattered." She giggled again, pissing Damon even more off. "What can I do for you?"_

_Now was the time to make a decision. Tell her the truth or lie. He decided to sell a story he quickly imagined in his mind._

_"There were rumors holding you'd be still alive," he told her. "Although all of us saw you being brought to the tomb. But on opening it we didn't find your body in it."_

Damn _, he thought._ I shouldn't have told her.

_"Oh, you opened the tomb?" For some reason she looked very happy about it._

_"Yes, we did." He had to continue with the truth, now. "Anna freed Pearl."_

_"I'm happy to hear that," Katherine said. "Do you know where I can find her? I'd like to meet her and say hello."_

_"No, I'm sorry. I have no idea," he answered in the negative. And even if he had known he wouldn't have told her._

_"Oh, that's too bad."_

_Damon wanted nothing more than to leave, now but he had to say goodbye to her first and therefore he had to bring the conversation to an end. "Yeah, well, Pearl told me you escaped the hunt back then and I wanted to see if it was true with my own eyes," he concluded._

_"Yes, I was lucky," she said smiling again. "The guard was very kind."_

_You made him be kind, he corrected her in his thoughts._

_"I see." Literally. "Well, that's everything I came here for," he told her. "I need to be going, now."_

_"I see," she said. Was there a touch of disappointment in her voice? "May I ask you who sent you?"_

She's playing me! _he thought furiously. After all she'd done and hurt him by she was playing him again!_

 _"_ I _did," he answered, not hiding his anger anymore and before it could get worse he decided to leave. "Goodbye, Kath."_

* * *

Damon and Elena were still settling on the bed. Damon's eyes that held so many emotions in this moment were closed. He had already been weak enough tonight. He had shown Elena a side of him no one had ever seen. He was calm on the outside but while he had told her everything his voice must have broken a couple of times.

He expected Elena to say something. She listened attentively to his story without interrupting him once and now she was silent. It was nearly driving him insane not to know what she was thinking. He opened his mouth to ask her about it when –

"Bitch!"

Damon's eyes shot open. He settled himself into a sitting position and stared at Elena.

"What?"

"Well, I'm sorry," Elena said but quickly corrected herself. "Wait, no, I'm not. She's a bitch."

"Take it back!" Damon growled.

"Why? You just told me she'd been playing you over the years not once respecting your feelings–"

"I know," Damon cut her short. "But I don't want you to call her that."

"Don't tell me you're okay with what she did!" Elena flared up. "She played you, Damon! She didn't care about you! She hurt you so much!"

"Yes but still," he insisted. "Still I can't hate her. I could never do that."

"But still," Elena kept on trying to open his eyes so that he saw the truth. "She had no right to hurt you. You didn't deserve it."

As much as her words made him happy, he just couldn't hate Katherine for what she did. Maybe he was blind and foolish but he just couldn't. He just loved her too much. Maybe sometime if he would find another woman he'd want to spend eternity with that woman could heal his broken heart, make him be angry at Katherine and make him forget about her eventually. He very much hoped for this to happen, otherwise he would probably never get over her.

"Thanks for you concern," Damon said, trying no keep calm. "But how I think of her is my business not yours."

He knew his words sounded harsh. After all she only wanted to help him. But it was true. Katherine was none of her business… yet.

Elena had understood. He didn't care about her opinion. Stupid, lovesick idiot! How could he still love her after everything she'd done?! She hardly knew Katherine, only from Stefan and Damon's stories but she was suddenly despising her for what she had done to Damon. She better never came across this woman.

"I'll go to bed, now," Damon announced. "We'll leave at ten a.m."

Elena just nodded. Damon gave her a last look, then left the room. Elena got up, got some things out of her bag and entered the bathroom. She locked it and took a shower. It was a great relieve and opportunity to let her thoughts flow. Damon had finally opened up to someone, to none other than her. She knew how much it must have taken him to do it and how much trust was involved in it. She was grateful for it and didn't blame him anymore. Love was human feeling after all. How long had they been waiting for sign of humanity in Damon to show? Katherine however had done something Elena wouldn't forgive. Ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh well, don't kill me please! The thing about Katherine I actually think she'd really do that because she loves how men fall for her and doing that table dance thing she also meets people she can feed on later.
> 
> God, how disgusting. And how disgusting she was to Damon! Please don't hate me, now.
> 
> Somehow I let Elena feel what I felt even before this chapter. I've been hating her for hurting Damon since Fool Me Once. It must have taken control over me when I wrote this chapter.
> 
> In hope not to have lost a couple of readers...


	8. What have you done?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This weekend I have to work as well. So there will be two chapters again this Friday. Enjoy!

At about ten in the morning Damon and Elena left the hotel and Florida. They didn't talk much just if it was inevitable. Elena didn't like the silence between them. She knew she'd pissed Damon off last night by telling him what to do but to ignore her completely? She hadn't expected that from him. Their trip had been so much fun. Why did it have to end this way? Why did she have to ask him about Katherine? He'd told her before he didn't want to talk about it. She shouldn't have pushed him… She was so looking forward to their return to Mystic Falls. Some space between them was absolutely necessary now. Maybe Damon would calm down after a few days and then they could hang out again which she was almost praying for because hanging out with him implied fun and distraction from everything that was bothering her… Stefan's absence… her relation to Katherine…

Elena quietly wished they hadn't chosen Florida as destination. The drive back to Mystic Falls didn't seem to end which was mostly due to the fact that she was awake this time. She was bored and tired and this silence was killing her every nerve! She reached for the button to turn on the radio and pressed it. Damon noticed it but kept on pursing his lips.

After hours and miles of driving the sky turned dark which meant they were finally approaching Mystic Falls. Soon they crossed the state border and Elena stretched herself. Finally, she thought.

Then something happened Elena couldn't have foreseen. A tall figure and a car suddenly appeared on the street and Damon slammed the brakes. Elena was lifted from her seat and pressed into the belt. The car stopped a few yards away from the figure.

"You okay?" Damon gasped with clear concern in his voice.

"Yeah. Yeah, I think so," she panted and coughed.

"Takes slow breaths," he advised and put his hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay. I'm fine," she assured him. Wow, she thought. It takes an almost car accident to make him talk to me again.

"Good. Listen, I'll go and see what his problem is," he told her. "I want you to lock the doors as soon as I'm out, just in case."

Elena nodded. "Be careful."

Damon got out of the car and Elena locked it immediately.

Closing up on him Damon had a better view of the man. As he had seen before, he was tall, at least six feet two and very thin. The coat he was wearing was tightly wrapped around his slender waist and he was wearing an old-fashioned hat from the 1800s.

"Can I help you, sir?" Damon asked politely. Somehow he thought he knew the man. He reminded him of someone from his very old past. And he was wondering, was the person in front of him a vampire or not?

"Oh yes, thank you for stopping!" the stranger said excitedly. "It's the car. It don't know what's wrong. It just won't start."

"Let me take a look at it," Damon offered and opened the engine hood.

"Thank you, sir!"

Damon examined the engine but didn't find anything. Everything was in order. He turned to the man.

"Well, I can't find – Aaaargh!"

Suddenly the "man" held a stake in his hand and drove it into Damon's torso. Damon cried out in agony and fell to the ground, clutching the stake with a painful expression on his face.

"Sorry." The vampire shrugged. "It's special. Can't be pulled out by a vampire."

Damon roared in anger and pain.

Elena watched all of this shocked from inside the car and was about to get out to Damon when suddenly the glass of the passenger's side's window broke and two hands clutched her neck, tilting her chin up. Elena turned her head to see a vampire girl with bloodshot eyes whose face was getting dangerously close to her neck. Elena screamed and tried to shove her away but was too weak.

"Elena!" Damon shouted. "Glove compartment! Hurry!"

The gloves compartment? What was he trying to tell her? Her hands fiddled with the lock of the compartment. As she was scared he hands were trembling, making it difficult to open it but then she managed to do it and revealed two stakes. Elena didn't hesitate, grabbed one and drove it into the vampire girl's heart just when she felt her lips on her neck. The vampire didn't cry, just fell silently to the ground. Elena opened the locks and got out of the car on the driver's side and went towards Damon and the other vampire who had turned his back on her.

Which was just perfect because he hadn't watched his fellow vampire die thanks to Damon who had started some small talk with him.

"You haven't changed a bit, Leonardo," Damon observed.

"Of course not," Leonardo chuckled. "We're vampires. We don't age."

"How'd you get out of the tomb?" Damon demanded.

"Oh, it was easy. We were lucky. Someone left a beg of fresh human blood. The smell awakened me and I grabbed it and drank the blood. It made me strong enough to leave the tomb, favorably at night."

Damn! Damon thought. "His carelessness had helped the vampires to escape. He groaned in pain and frustration, closing his eyes for a moment. And when he opened them again he saw Elena approach.

"Elena, don't!" he shouted.

Leonardo turned around to Elena. A wide grin spread across his face.

"You really want to die, don't you," he chuckled. "If that's so, I'll gladly fulfill your wish!"

He leapt at Elena, bearing his fangs. Damon watched it horrified.

"NOOO!"

In a swift moment Elena took a stake out of her pocket and drove it straight into Leonardo's heart. Leonardo cried out in agony, fell to the ground and died. Damon stared half impressed half shocked at Elena.

"Ahh, don't give me a heart attack!" he groaned and lay back on the ground.

"Sorry," Elena apologized and knelt down beside him, touching the stake in his torso. "This looks painful."

"Yeah, thanks, doctor," Damon muttered and when Elena put her hand around the stake to pull it out he added "Be careful."

"Shut up," she told him and pulled the stake out.

"Aaaargh!"

"Oh, boy, relax, it's out."

Damon looked at his injury and sighed in relief. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Elena got up and pulled him to his feet. "You okay?"

"Yeah, now," replied. "Come on, let's get in the car."

They ran back to the car and got in. Damon started the engine and hit the gas pedal.

"I've kept something from you," he admitted now.

"And that is?"

"You'll see."

Fifteen minutes later they were standing in front of the tomb in which the vampires were buried or rather had been buried. The tomb was open, the seal broken and the vampires missing. Damon cursed. Elena was shocked.

"I don't understand. Who opened it?" she inquired.

"They did it themselves from inside. Come on, it's not safe for you to be here," he stated and dragged her along.

They went to the Salvatore manor where Damon started to explain.

"You're kidding me, right?!" Elena flared up. "You're telling me there are 27 vampires on the loose because you accidentally forgot a bag of blood in there?!"

"26," he corrected her. "Kath wasn't inside, remember?"

Elena let out a cry of frustration, took a book from the shelf and hurled it at him. "How can you think of _her_ now?"

"Whoa!" Damon ducked to avoid getting hit and the book hit the window behind him instead. "Be careful, that's antique! Any by the way you've already killed two. So there are only 24 left, probably less. Mystic Falls is not really attractive to vampires."

Elena shook her head in disbelief.

"It's half as bad." Elena glared at him. "No, really." He took one of the stakes they had brought along and held it out for her to take. "Wanna prove yourself as a hunter?" he asked smugly.

Elena stared at him. "What?"

"Well, I'm definitely not going to exterminate my own species," he explained. "And you're half a Gilbert because you were brought up by them. So what's the deal, Van Gilbert?" he asked, giving her a cocky smile. "You really impressed me out there," he added sweetly.

Elena looked at the stake for a moment than took it. "Fine, whatever."

"Yes!" Damon exclaimed happily, then flinched and held his torso with a painful expression.

"Damon, what's wrong with you?!" Elena demanded and came closer.

"Nothing. I'm fine," he groaned, not sounding very convincing.

"Don't pretend to be the strong guy. Let me see," she demanded and took a look at the point of his body where the stake had pierced him. The injury was still there and bleeding although the stake was out.

"This looks terrible. Shouldn't have healed by now?" she wondered.

"It's probably just some splitters," he assumed.

Elena didn't hesitate. "Where can I find tweezers?" she inquired.

"In the cupboard in the bathroom but don't bother. It's nothing," he told her reassuringly.

"It's bleeding, Damon," she reminded him. "And I can see you're in pain. So, take off your shirt. I'll be right back." He gave her a look. "So that I can treat your wound," added, rolling her eyes.

She turned her back on him and ran upstairs into the bathroom. She pulled out the shelves and found the tweezers. Together with them and a bottle of disinfectant spray she hurried back into the parlor, satisfied to see Damon lying on the sofa with his shirt unbuttoned.

"Good boy," she said, smiling and knelt down beside him. "I'll warn you. It's cold."

He smirked. Elena smiled to herself and started to treat him. She sprayed some disinfectant on the injury and was not all too surprised when Damon flinched. "I warned you," she chuckled.

"Just do it already," he said irritated.

She grinned and started to pull out each and every splitter she could find. In the end when she was done Damon's skin healed. Elena smiled and Damon was feeling better at once. He examined his belly and smiled. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," she replied and got up from the floor.

Damon got up, too and buttoned his shirt while glancing at the old grandfather's clock in the corner of the room. It was a quarter to eleven.

"I guess you want to go home now," he presumed.

"Yes, Aunt Jenna's probably already waiting for me."

He nodded and put on his jacket. "I'll drive you. Not only because I picked you up Friday night."

The drive to Elena's home was silent. Elena was thinking about what she had just found out. That there were approximately two dozens of vampires lurking in Mystic Falls. We shouldn't have left, she thought. We should've stayed here and protected everyone.

"Why'd you go on this trip with me? It was careless, wasn't it?" she accused Damon. "We should've stayed here and protected everyone."

Damon sighed and turned his head to look at her. "Stefan told me to take care of you and to protect you while he's gone. That's why I decided to go on this trip with you. But I swear I didn't know about the break out and neither did Stefan. When I returned to Mystic Falls two days ago I thought the presence I felt belonged to Anna and Pearl. Obviously I was wrong. I'm sorry. If I'd known about this earlier we definitely wouldn't have left town."

His eyes were fixing her as if they were begging her to believe him. Elena sighed in exhaustion. She reminded herself that Damon had never lied to her but had always been frank with her. So she believed him this time, too.

"Fine, I believe you," she said and reached for the door handle.

"Tell your aunt and your brother to let nobody inside the house," he ordered. "Neither at daytime nor at night."

"I will," she promised. "I'll see you around."

She opened the door and got out. She ran to the door of her house and got inside without looking back once. Inside she locked the door and every window in the house.

"Aunt Jenna? Jeremy? I'm home."

"We're in the living room!" they called back.

Elena entered the living room and found them sitting on the couch and watching TV.

"Welcome home," Jenna greeted her. "Did you have a nice weekend?"

"Yeah, it was fun," Elena answered. "Listen, don't let anyone inside the house. I'm serious, Damon and I just met someone outside on the road. I think we're being watched.

"Being watched by whom?" Jeremy demanded.

The question isn't who but how many, Elena thought.

"I don't know. Just don't let anyone in. Neither at daytime nor at night."

"Okay, we got it. Calm down, Elena," Jenna said.

"You didn't order pizza or something, Jeremy?" Elena inquired.

"No."

"And you, Aunt Jenna? No overnight express delivery?"

"No."

"Good," Elena said. "Good. I'm going to bed. I'm exhausted. Good night."

She left the living room not watching Jeremy and Jenna exchanging questioning looks, and went upstairs. She opened her bedroom door and startled. Damon was lying comfortably on her bed.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack!" she gasped.

"Good. Now we're even." He grinned.

"It's not funny," she said and closed the door.

"I checked the vicinity. You're almost vampire-free. I thought you'd like to know that before you go to sleep."

"Almost?" she repeated suspiciously.

"Well, one is just enjoying the comfort of your cuddly bed," he answered and gave her a cocky smile.

Elena exhaled in relieve. "Not for long," she replied. "Get off. Get out."

"Elena, don't be so harsh to me after all we've been through," hw hined, clutching his heart dramatically.

"Van Gilbert is tired, Damon. There's only so much I can take. Please go. I need some rest," she explained.

"Okay."

He got off her bed and came closer to her. Elena stared at him. What was he up to?

"Don't tell me you're hungry."

Damon groaned. "Damn, Elena, you really know how to crash a moment. And FYI I am _not_ hungry. I was going to tell you that I'm really proud of you. For what you did on the road."

Elena smiled. "Thank you. I've something to tell you, too."

"Go ahead."

"Thanks for the fabulous weekend," she said and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "And now go," she added and shoved Damon who was quite surprised by her gesture to the window. "Good night, Damon."

"Good night, Elena," he said and hopped outside.

Elena watched him get into the car and drive away, smiling widely.

An hour after Damon had returned home the doorbell rang. Wondering who might be visiting him so late at night he opened the door to find Sheriff Forbes.

"Sheriff," he said surprised.

"Good evening, Mr Salvatore," she said. "Hope you don't mind men bothering you so late at night."

"No, of course not. Come in, please." He stepped back so she could enter.

"I saw your car parked outside while I was patrolling."

"Yeah, I just got back. Did anything happen?" he asked worriedly.

"Yeah, definitely," the sheriff confirmed. "There was a time in which they were no attacks by vampires. But for a month now we have been finding bloodshed bodies again. More than last time."

"That's bad," Damon said and pretended to be shocked.

"Yeah. So, I came here to ask for help," the sheriff explained. "We won't stand up to them alone. You've proved to be reliable and effective before. We need your assistance in the exterminating them."

"We're already on it," Damon told her.

"We?"

"Yeah… me and… Stefan."

"Oh, you talked him into it? Good, we need every help we can get," she said.

"We're doing everything we can," Damon assured her.

"Thanks. Okay, that's everything. Have a good night, Damon."

"You too, Sheriff."

He walked her to the door and closed it. He leaned on it and sighed deeply.


	9. Hanging by a Moment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As the title says just some Damon and Elena moments and the next chapter won't be very exciting either but the one after that, I promise! This story will stick somewhat close the plot of show. So it will include the whole Elena - Isabel- Alaric story and Jeremy finding out about vampires as well as Jonathan Gilbert's sursprising appearance. One thing after the other. Until then, just hang by a moment and enjoy Damon and Elena together!

_Dear Diary,_

_it's been some time since my last entry. So much has happened in only two days that I had to accept and think through._

_I think Damon and I bonded a little more during our trip to Florida. I really enjoyed hanging out with him and I dare say he enjoyed being with me, too. Last weekend he showed me a completely different side of him he didn't show before. It's hard to believe but he actually has a soft side. Tough on the outside, soft on the inside describes him perfectly. He took me to Disneyworld and Sea World and had a sunset walk with me… in short he did everything that makes a girl happy and elated. Now, I don't know why he did it. He had this 'Just felt like' thing going on but is that it? Or might it be more than that? Might he actually like me?_

_Ah, I'm drifting…_

_Well, the weekend wasn't always juicy. The idiot in me practically had to ask him about Katherine and forced him to go through some painful experience again. When he finished telling me what happened I could clearly see that he was hurting. I wanted to give him comfort like I did in the woods back then but my anger toward Katherine took control of me. I said some pretty nasty things about her and got into a fight with Damon who's obviously still in love with her. Too much to let go of her anytime soon. But I can't help him with that. He has to see for himself that Katherine isn't worth it to remember or even love her. I hope he will someday…_

_Another thing that's been bothering me is my resemblance to Katherine. I inquired Damon about that too but he made it pretty clear that he knows the connection but would rather die to tell me. No pun intended. And I wonder why? Is it so bad for me to know? Why? If it's really that bad then why does no one tell me and comfort me at the same time? I'm 17, soon coming of age. Shouldn't it be my decision whether or not I want to find it out? I'll definitely ask Damon again or Stefan if he ever comes back because Damon kind of told me he wouldn't return all too soon…_

_Oh and by the way there are two dozens of vampires in Mystic Falls. All previously trapped in the tomb and now on the loose thanks to Damon who forgot to take the bag of blood he'd brought for Katherine with him again. One vampire must have snatched and emptied it, becoming strong enough to open the tomb from the inside. I just wonder why the seal didn't stop him but I guess it's no longer working because of Grandma Bennett's death._

_Great. And now Damon wants me to play Van Helsing and kill each and every one of those monsters just because I had a good shot at two of them which was more a lucky reflex than talent but I'll have to do it because Damon refuses to kill his own species._

_So Lexi didn't belong to his species? Go figure…_

_I guess I don't have much of a choice. If I don't do anything no one will. At least I can count on Damon to protect me. It's the least he can do. And I have a hunch that from now on he will perform this task with great responsibility, reliability and to uttermost satisfaction. He'd better he would. The expression on his face he had when he thought the vampire got me was telling…_

_Well, Van Gilbert will go to bed now, regaining strength to hunt for good marks at school tomorrow._

* * *

Elena closed her diary and put it aside. Then she reached for the lamp on her bedside table and turned it off. Soon after that she was asleep.

Some minutes later someone invaded her room through the open window. It was Damon. He looked around to find Elena sleeping soundly. He smiled, walked over to her and pulled up the blanket to her chin.

'Sweet dreams, Elena,' he whispered.

Then he turned around and left. He had come to see if some other vampire had chosen the Gilberts for food and was lurking in front of their house, waiting for one of them to step out. There was no such vampire to Damon's relief. There had never been one for the last three days he had checked.

There was another reason he came every night to look after Elena. After their trip they hadn't met again. He assumed that Elena wanted some space to digest everything she had learnt but even if he granted her that space it didn't mean he had to stay away from her. So he was watching her. On her way to school and back, everytime she left the house he was following her. Like a stalker but only to make sure she was safe.

He was also looking forward to talking to her again which he would sooner than she might expect it. They couldn't avoid each other forever and at the weekend at the latest he would go hunting with her. Besides, they were friends, weren't they? And that friendship meant a lot to him. So did Elena. She was giving him something of such great amount that he could hardly give back. Trust. That was why he had gone on that trip with her and wanted her to be as happy as possible. It had been his way to say thanks and give her something back.

And they'd come back and – boom – gotten attacked by vampires who should have been safely trapped in the tomb. It'd been stupid and careless to smash the bag of blood against the wall. There was no excuse for his foolishness not even his temporary distraction at that time. It was his fault that Mystic Falls was facing 'animal attacks' again, that Sheriff Forbes and the Council had to become active in dealing with it. Damon was supplying them with verveine and had to talk more often to the sheriff than he would have preferred. Sheriff Forbes was very fond of him for his assistance in the past and counting on him to continue his services to her satisfaction. Damon was constantly assuring her that the problem was being taken care. At some point he had even said too much. Talking to the sheriff he had said 'We're on it' and regretted it at once as his statement left a lot room for questions like 'Who is we?' and 'How do you do it?' His usual answers were 'Me and my brother Stefan' and 'Oh, you know, stake and things like that'. However he was bathing in undeserved glory because he hadn't moved a finger since Sunday. He had passed this task to Elena who definitely wasn't going to hunt during the week with school in the morning which he understood perfectly. And what did he care about people. As long as there weren't people he or Elena knew were concerned he couldn't care less. But Friday night she would rid Mystic Falls of some vampires. Until then the remaining two days she could do whatever she wanted and he could, too.

* * *

Thursday morning at nine Elena had lots of things on her mind and not even one of them involved Damon. From Monday on she had been working on her strained friendship with Bonnie and Caroline. Convincing them of that Damon didn't mean more to her than they did was so much easier without having him around.

'Elena, are you free for the weekend? Matt and I are celebrating our two months anniversary,' Caroline announced.

'Sure. I'll be there,' Elena promised. Forgotten was her vampire-hunting-duty. 'I'm really happy for you guys,' she added. 'Matt deserves some happiness after everything he's been through.'

'I'm doing my best to keep him entertained,' Caroline replied smiling.

They kept talking about the little party, typical girl stuff like what they would be wearing when two random girls' talk brought them back to the present.

'Did you listen to the news this morning? Someone was attacked again!'

'Another animal attack? How many people have died so far? Five?'

'Six so far.'

Bonnie and Caroline exchanged a look with Elena.

'By the way, how's our psychopath doing?' Caroline asked.

'I know what you think,' Elena said. 'But it's not Damon.'

'How can you be sure?'

'I saw them.'

' _Them_?' Bonnie repeated appalled.

'Yeah, plural. We don't know how many yet,' Elena explained. And now she remembered her agreement with Damon. That she would have to kill those monsters.

'But where do they keep coming from?' Bonnie inquired.

Elena held Bonnie's gaze for moment, silently communicating the right answer to her before she gave a wrong one.

'We don't know.'

Bonnie seemed to have understood. She looked pale. Elena was worried about her. She still wasn't stable, still affected by her grandmother's death.

'We're taking care of it, Damon and I,' Elena added.

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'We'll hunt and kill them.'

'Are you out of your mind?' Bonnie exclaimed shocked. 'Don't you know how dangerous it is?'

'I'm not alone. Damon's with me,' Elena reminded her.

'Yeah, Damon. Like you can trust him,' Caroline muttered.

'I do trust him,' Elena pointed out. 'He's saved my life before and I'm sure he'll protect me.'

'Speaking of the devil,' Caroline said now. 'Look who's flirting with the school secretary.'

Elena turned her head to school office down the hall. Someone was talking to the secretary. She recognized the expensive leather jacket even from the distance. _He isn't flirting with her_ , she thought. He was leaning in close, probably holding the secretary's gaze. _He's compelling her._

'He's probably doing some research you know? Checking for new students who could be vampires,' she explained but somehow she thought there was more behind it.

* * *

'Elena Gilbert,' Damon said, pronouncing every syllable extra clearly. 'I'd like to know where I can find her now,' he declared.

'I'm sorry, I cannot share this information with you if you're not the police. You know, data security,' the secretary apologized.

'Miss,' Damon said, strain in his voice and a smile on his face as he put his sunglasses down and fixed her. 'You know what you'll do now?'

'No…?'

'You'll run a scan on Elena Gilbert in your system, tell me the name of her class and print out her timetable and give it to me.'

'You know what?' the secretary now said. 'I'll run a quick scan on her in the system. What was name again?'

'Elena Gilbert.'

'What is it that you can't ask me but have to compel the secretary for?' an angry voice came from behind. Damon flinched and turned around to see Elena standing there, her arms crossed and looking sternly at him.

'Hey, Elena. How are you, honey?' he asked, giving her a so not sincere smile.

'I'm fine. Thank you. What are you doing here?' she demanded.

'Me? Oh, nothing just some research you know?' He waved it off.

Elena shot him a uh-huh-and-what-are-you-really-doing look. But just when she was going to ask him the secretary interrupted.

'Here you go. It's all on the sheet,' she said and handed the sheet to Damon.

'Thank you, Miss,' he said sweetly then turned back to Elena. 'Look, it was nice to chat with you but I gotta go. Sorry, hun. See you.'

'Yeah, you, too… And stop calling me honey!' she shouted after him when he left the office, unable to see the wide grin that his lips formed.

* * *

In the hall he passed Bonnie and Caroline by.

'Ladies,' he greeted them cockily before he resumed walking.

'We'll he's charming. You gotta give him credit for that,' Caroline said. Bonnie kicked her leg. 'Ow!'

'He's only charming if he wants something from you,' Elena muttered, rejoining them. That was of course not entirely true. Damon had shown her that he could be different without any ulterior motive but she would keep statistics before judging him.

'Hey, what time is it?' Bonnie now asked worriedly.

'Ten minutes after History started,' Caroline told them, looking at her cell phone. 'What are you waiting for? Get going!'

They hurried to the classroom. The new history teacher was already there when they arrived, taking down their delay in his notebook. Elena watched him disapprovingly and sat down. She opened her bag to take her stuff out when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around and was surprised to see Damon sitting there where Stefan used to.

'Hey, Elena, long time no see.' He smirked.

'What are you doing here, Damon?' she hissed before she realized. 'You enrolled at high school again?'

'I was bored.'

'You were _bored_?' she repeated incredulously.

'Yeah. Hanging out at home waiting for you to return from school in the afternoon was boring,' he explained.

'Why do you want to wait for me anyway?' she demanded suspiciously.

'I thought that was obvious,' he replied matter-of-factly.

Elena opened her mouth to demand an answer from him when the teacher told the class to shut up and listen. Reluctantly Elena turned around to the front. Her peace and quiet didn't last for long. Soon after she had turned away from Damon she felt her cell phone vibrate in her pocket. She took it out, hiding it under the desk and glanced at the display. She received a text message.

_I hope you're free on the weekend, hun_

Elena stifled a groan and started texting back.

_How'd you get me number, jerk_

Behind her she could hear Damon chuckle.

 _Stefan_ **,** was all he texted and Elena sighed. She could have expected Damon to take Stefan's phone and copy her number into his own. A minute later she received another message.

_I hope you didn't forget our little date. I hope you don't mind that I chose the weekend for it._

Of course she did mind. She had just told Caroline she'd be at her party and that was what she told him now.

 _That's_ _unfortunate_ , Damon answered. _But you might want to reconsider your plans with so many vampires around. Did you read the paper? 6 attacks by now. You gotta take care of it, hun._

Declaring her to Van Gilbert was one thing, ruining her weekend by giving her a guity conscience was something else entirely.

She started to text him back when an angry voice called her name.

'Miss Gilbert, please hand me your phone.'

Elena looked up into the face of her new history teacher who was standing just in front of her.

Shoot, Elena thought and handed her teacher the phone.

'Thank you,' he said. 'You can have it back at the end of my class when we'll have a little chit-chat about your behavior in my class.'

Elena pulled a face. She crossed her arms and forced herself to follow her teacher's historical sermon. Then after some minutes Damon tapped her on the shoulder again. She casually turned around and grabbed the piece of paper he was holding out for her to take. She unfolded it and read it.

_Elena, Elena, Elena. Always getting yourself in trouble. Who told you to text me back?_

Behind her she could hear Damon sneer. Elena took a deep breath, then as calmly as possible screwed up Damon's message. No she wouldn't let him get to her. She wouldn't…

* * *

' _Damon_!'

History class was over and Elena had had a friendly talk with her teacher who gave it to her short and bluntly.

_You suck at history._

Somehow that guy reminded her of Mr. Tanner and she wished Saltzman would still be there.

Furious Elena had gone search for Damon during her lunch period and found him by the snack machine, taking out a TWIX.

'Hey honey, did you enjoy history?'

She shoved him. 'No, I did not. Why do you always have to get on my nerves? Leave me the hell alone! I don't want to see you before Friday night!'

'That's tomorrow, by the way,' he reminded her.

'Tomorrow then. Mind my words or I'll really get angry,' she snapped and turned around to leave but Damon grabbed her arm and stopped her. 'What?'

'Oh, come on, Elena. Don't be so uptight. We haven't talked to each other for days.'

'So what? Do I _have to_ talk to you?' she demanded.

'No but–'

'But what? Did Stefan tell you not only to watch over me but to talk to me, too?'

'You're pissed. I get it,' he replied. 'Still about the tomb thing.'

'No!' she shouted. 'Stop reading my mind! Okay, so maybe I am pissed about that. About having to cleaning up after you.'

If Damon was hurt by that he hid it well because his expression never changed.

'It's okay to be scared,' he told her.

'I am not scared!' she spat. 'Just pissed! Just go. Please,' she added emphatically.

For a moment you could see pain flicker through Damon's eyes but then his gaze returned to normal.

'I can't,' he said matter-of-factly. 'I've got school. I cannot leave before 4 a.m. but if it's what you really want I'll leave you alone then.'

'It's what I want,' she confirmed and turned around to leave.

Damon watched her walk away, part of him wanting to just keep on keeping her company, part of him accepting that she rejected him.

* * *

The following classes Damon did not address Elena again. He granted her the space she requested but he didn't stop watching her. In Math, Biology and PE. He could feel Elena's discomfort in PE. As she had quit cheerleading she had been forced to take another PE class and picked volleyball. However she wasn't very good at it, either, practically embarrassing herself in front of her class mates and Damon who had casually picked each and every class Elena had signed up for. And as if it wasn't already bad enough, Damon was in Elena's team.

'Stand behind me!' he ordered her when she missed another ball.

'No!' she refused out of breath and leapt forward to hit the ball over the line. 'Trust me,' he insisted. 'You'll thank me for it.'

Elena glared at him but did as she was told. She stepped back behind Damon, from now on catching and hitting every ball that approached her and she realized. Back row was just fine for while front row definitely wasn't. And at the end of PE she knew she had to say thanks to Damon.

'Thank you,' she said completely sincerely on their way to the changing rooms. He gave her one of his smugly smiles that were saying 'Told ya so.' Elena smiled back before entering the girls changing room.

* * *

PE was their last class, ending at exactly 4 p.m. Damon walked over to his car, not once looking at Elena. As agreed before they would part at 4 p.m. However little did he know that Elena had changed her mind. So he was surprised when she followed him to his Mustang. But of course he felt her presence closing up on him. So he turned around to her fast, smiling smugly when he startled her.

'Yes, Elena?'

'Um, I was wondering if maybe…'

'Yes?'

'Maybe you could give me a ride? My car broke down the other day,' she added explanatorily.

'Why don't you ask Bonnie or Caroline?' he suggested.

'Matt picked Caroline up and Bonnie…'

'Oh, let me guess,' he offered. 'She was already gone before you could ask her?'

'Yeah, something like that,' she said, trying to withstand his penetrating Uh-huh look. 'Okay,' she gave in eventually. 'So maybe I wanted to apologize for being a bitch earlier.'

'Bitch is far too harmless to describe your behavior earlier.' Elena smacked his arm and he grinned. 'Just kidding. Hop in. I'll take you home.'

Elena smiled in relieve and gratefully got into the car. Damon did, too, and directed his Mustang out of the parking lot of Mystic Falls Highschool.

'So,' he began.

'So?'

'So you know I haven't accepted your apology yet,' he let her know.

'Excuse me?' she said indignantly. 'What involves a Damon-worth apology, please?'

'Oh, it's actually pretty simply,' he told her. 'Just come over tomorrow night to fulfill your duty.'

'That's it?' she asked half-laughing. 'It seems to be very important to you that we go kill those vampires.'

'It is,' he confirmed. 'I can't let the town become all too aware of vampires. If they would I would have to leave and I think it's in your interest, too, that I stay.'

'Is that so?' she said.

'You tell me,' he replied and grinned.


	10. Partying and Hunting With A Vampire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More work on the weekend, another two chapters on a Friday. Enjoy!

As promised Elena came over to the Salvatore manor on Friday night, bracing herself for the task that awaited her and the danger that came with it. Her hunting vampires, who could have ever foreseen that? In any case not her. But here she was entering the Salvatore manor at eight p.m.

'Damon? It's me, Elena!' she called out and didn't even flinch when Damon using super-human-speed was standing next to her the next second after.

'Hey, Elena,' he said. 'Nice of you to drop by.'

Elena noticed at once that he was lacking his usual cocky smile. His face was expressionless almost sad.

'Yeah, sure. I've gotta protect this town, right?' she replied trying to sound all eager to get down to work.

'I'm not coming along,' he announced now. 'I'm staying here. I'm kinda busy.'

He left her with that and entered the parlor, taking a seat on the sofa and hiding his face behind something that looked like an album. Elena followed him confused.

'What? You're kidding me, right?' she snapped. He couldn't be serious. All the time he had pushed her into doing this and now he was just gonna bail because he was _busy_.

'No, I'm not. I'm serious.'

At this point Elena couldn't hold it anymore.

'Yesterday you bugged me all the time to come and do this. I thought this is important to you! And I thought you'd accompany and watch over me!'

'Sorry, no can do.'

'Damon!' He ignored her continuing to study the album. 'What is it that you're busy with?'

'Come and see.' He patted the place beside him on the sofa. Slowly, still not believing what was happening she went to the sofa and sat down beside him, glancing at whatever Damon was holding and looking at. He caught her gaze and turned the large book around so that Elena could take a look at it. It was indeed a photo album full of pictures of the Salvatore family. They should a rather plump man with his two sons, one little bit taller than the other and with darker hair and a beautiful, blond, slender woman. Giuseppe Salvatore, his wife and his children, Damon and Stefan. All of them looked very happy. Elena turned some pages to see more photographs and portraits of them, eventually lingering on a picture of Mrs. Salvatore.

'Your mum was beautiful.' She just had to say it.

'Yes, she was,' Damon said and smiled ghosted across his face.

'What was her name?'

'Celia. It means 'heaven' in Italian.'

'It's a beautiful name.'

'Yeah. Everything was beautiful about her,' Damon said with audible sadness in his voice. Elena didn't miss his gloomy mood.

'May I ask how she died?' Elena asked carefully.

Damon closed his eyes for a moment as if he was in pain and Elena immediately regretted having asked him. 'I'm sorry. I didn't want–'

'She was fatally ill. Got struck with the pest,' Damon told her. 'She died home in Florence. Her death gave our father a reason to immigrate to the U.S.'

'I see.' She looked at some more pictures. 'So this is what you're busy with. Refreshing memories.'

'Kind of,' Damon muttered, watching her looking at the pictures.

'You were cute as children,' Elena said, almost mesmerized by little Stefan and Damon. Damon chuckled. 'You think?'

'Yeah.' She kept turning pages until she found a document that looked like a birth certificate and it was. Damon's birth certificate.

''Damon Salvatore. Born in Florence 4 November 1845',' Elena read aloud. 'Wait, 4 November? But that's today!'

Damon forced a grin.

'But why didn't say something?'

'It's no big deal.'

'Of course it is!' Elena contradicted. 'How old did you turn?'

'I turned 164.'

'So you're two years older than Stefan. 'Elena did the math. 'And what do you usually do on your birthdays?'

'Usually I hit a bar and let the bartender fill me up.'

'Oh, Damon.'

'What? I don't celebrate my birthdays anymore,' he told her.

'Why not?' Elena inquired.

'Why do?'

'You never know which one will be your last. That's why you have to celebrate each of them.'

'Elena, maybe you haven't noticed but I'm a vampire and as long as I feed on blood I won't die.'

'You're not invincible,' Elena reminded him. 'You can always… pass away. It only takes someone to drive a stake into your heart.'

'I'm not gonna let 'em,' he said in a sing-song voice.

'You so full of yourself.' She sighed.

'Anyway, what's your point, Elena?' Damon wanted to know.

'What involves a good party in your opinion?' She grinned at him mischievously and he, realizing what he was driving at, grinned back.

* * *

Half an hour later Damon's private birthday with two people was already going on. They'd turned on the music, prepared a little buffet with snacks and drinks and were enjoying themselves immensely while dancing and fooling around. Right now Oasis was playing in the CD player and Damon led Elena dancing through the house.

'For not wanting to celebrate your birthday you seem to actually enjoy it very much,' Elena observed pleased.

'I'm always in for a party,' he told her. 'And my parties always blast.'

He twirled her around. 'Because of my music. The wrong music can kill a party.'

'You really like the eighties, don't you?'

'I lov'em!' Damon exclaimed. 'The eighties were the best. You don't find that kind of music now-a-days on the radio. Depeche Mode, Oasis… the rest of the Rolling Stones era, Simply Red, Sting…'

'I get the picture.' Elena smiled. 'What else do you like in music?'

'The 70s were good, too, the 60s when the Stones and Beatles started becoming famous… and the 50s of course. Elvis really rocked. Wanna know my record of festivals? he asked.

'Sure.'

'My touring began in 1968 at Woodstock,' he started.

'Woodstock?!' Elena was amazed.

'Yup. It was great but the rain really sucked,' he said. 'I've also been to the King of Rock's first gig and each and every one that followed. I'm not sure but I think I've got a autograph of him somewhere.'

'Wow, you make every rocker look small.'

'I'm not finished. I got to Reading in good old England every year, and the other one I don't remember name of.'

'Like I said, you really can call yourself a rocker.' She laughed.

'Yes. But like I said,' he replied. 'The music isn't as good as back then.'

'What do you listen to now?' Elena inquired.

'Oh, too much to name them all. My favorites are 30 Seconds to Mars, Breaking Benjamin, Skillet…'

'So basically everything that rocks,' Elena summarized smiling.

'Oh not only. I also like the soft and slow ones if they're good. Like The Fray or The Calling… Damn, I even listen to Leona Lewis.' Elena grinned. 'But that's our little secret, okay?' he added putting a finger on his mouth.

'Okay.'

'Fine and now let's have fun!' Damon exclaimed and twirled her some more.

They kept it on until Elena felt slightly dizzy, then Damon changed the music with an evil grin. He had changed it to Tango and now he was holding out his hand to Elena.

'May I have this dance?' he asked cockily.

Elena hesitated for a moment but then took his hand and let him pull her close to him. They started dancing in accordance to the music with every passion the song held. Damon held her close to him like he was afraid to lose her and led her back and forth. Both enjoyed the dance despite how close they were to each other. While they were dancing none of them felt uncomfortable with it.

Then when Elena seemed to get exhausted, Damon led her dancing upstairs and dropped her on his bed. He took the remote control to his audio set and changed the music again, now to slow and gentle. He dropped the remote control and slumped on his bed beside Elena.

'Elena, Elena, Elena, you never cease to amaze me. You really are full of surprises,' he said.

'What do you mean?'

'Everything, the party, the dance…. I didn't think you could dance tango or salsa.'

Elena chuckled. 'I didn't either. In fact it was the first time I ever did.'

'You're kidding, right?' he asked incredulously.

'No, I'm serious. You're a good leader. I quickly picked up the steps and the rhythm.'

'You're a natural talent. Singing, dancing… If I discover one more I swear I'm gonna take you to Broadway even if I have to drag you there,' he said.

'God, stop it. I'm just a fast learner,' Elena waved it off.

They kept lying there without talking, just listening to the soft music coming from downstairs. At some point Tori Amos' Sorta Fairytale was playing.

'It's a nice a song,' Elena said.

'Mmm.'

And they both burst out laughing when they simultaneously remembered Elena's American Idol experience.

'Looks like it's haunting us, huh?' Elena mused aloud.

'Not if we don't want to,' Damon contradicted. 'Do you want me to skip to the next song?'

'No, let it play.'

The next song that was selected by the shuffle function was May I by Trading Yesterday.

'You listen to Trading Yesterday' That was more a statement than a question.

'Yeah, sometimes,' Damon admitted. 'Why? You like them?'

'Yeah, very,' Elena answered and closed her eyes.

'What else do you listen to?' Damon asked conversationally.

'Believe it or not but we have similar interests in music. I just don't like the hardcore stuff,' Elena replied. 'I like Trading Yesterday, Lifehouse, The Fray, Nickelback, Linkin' Park and even some songs from Breaking Benjamin.'

'No. Really? You and Breaking Benjamin?' Damon raised a brow.

'Yup. Surprised?'

'Rather shocked.' Elena chuckled. 'What else did you hide from me.'

'Deep inside I'm a vampire but I never told you,' Elena whispered.

'That was lame,' Damon commented.

'It was worth a try,' Elena shrugged. 'You don't need to know everything.'

'Hey, I saw your lingerie,' he reminded her. 'There's not much more left for me to find out about you.'

Elena smacked his arm and he smirked. 'You'd better forget this,' she threatened.

'Or what?'

'Or I will never celebrate your birthday with you again. Ever.'

'Ooo-hoo, you really mean it, don't you?' He chuckled. 'I'm sorry,' he said sweetly. 'I can't. It's in my head. I can't get it out.'

'You will!' Elena demanded. 'I'm not one of your one-night stand girls.'

'No, you're not. You talk too much,' Damon told her. 'Shut up and enjoy the peace and – well it's not really quiet with the music on.'

'I get your point. I agree. Let's just lay here and enjoy.'

One or two songs played till the end before Damon broke the silence between them.

'Elena?'

'Mmm.'

'Thank you. My 164th is the best birthday of my life.'

'Just wait after we celebrated your 165th,' Elena said grinning. 'Today is nothing compared to what I'll plan for next year.'

'You're gonna be there next year?' Damon asked.

'Definitely.'

'Then I'm looking forward to my birthday,' Damon said smiling. 'For the first time in 145 years.'

'You're welcome.'

'But Elena?'

'Yeah.'

'We'll definitely go hunting tomorrow night.'

'I was afraid you'd say that.'

And both of them shared another laugh.

* * *

The party ended late in the night and Elena called home to tell Jenna she would be staying at the Salvatore manor for the night, thrice assuring her that nothing would be happening and that she just had drunk too much to drive and sleep in the guest room. In the morning she went home to change and left again to go shopping with Caroline and Bonnie to make up for not attending the two-months-anniversary party. Caroline had been very mad at her for standing her up for Damon but calmed down when Elena promised to spend some time with her two friends on Saturday. And in the evening she rejoined with Damon who was already awaiting her with three stakes in his hand.

'Those for me?' she asked rhetorically.

'Yup. Here, take one and hide it behind your back again. I'll hide the other two in my jacket.'

He passed her the stake and Elena did as she was told.

'You ready?' he asked her.

'Yes.'

'Good. Let's go.'

'What's the plan?' Elena wanted to know, following Damon who was walking towards the open road.

'You just walk down the road, pretending your car broke down and you are lost and then you just kill them,' Damon explained.

'Great plan,' Elena muttered not convinced at all.

'I'm hiding and following you in case anything goes wrong,' Damon added. 'If it's any comfort to you?'

'It's a start,' Elena replied.

They were lucky with the time. There was hardly someone on the road at Saturday 10 p.m. The vampires must have been starving and would definitely lunge themselves at Elena. Good for the plan. Bad for Elena. But she didn't show Damon her fear. She wanted to be strong when he was there. Didn't want him to see her weak side. That was why she was probably feeling a little too sure on their hunt. She wasn't observant and therefore vulnerable. She was carrying out and sticking to Damon's plan and not expecting a sudden attack. That however was what happened.

Out of sudden a vampire lunged himself at her and in one swift movement pressed her to the ground.

'Aargh!'

'Get off of her bastard!'

Elena didn't feel the weight on her body anymore. Breathing hard she turned her head to the side to see Damon press the vampire to the ground and drive a stake through his heart. Elena closed her eyes and tried to catch her breath. The adrenaline released by fear rushed through her veins. She was scared, had a shock.

'You okay?'

Damon's face came into her view. She opened her mouth to answer but no sound came out. Instead she straightened up quickly, threw her arms around Damon's neck and pressed herself close to him.

'I was so scared.'

'Hey, Elena, calm down. I'm here,' Damon said and soothingly rubbed her back. 'Take slow breaths. It's over.'

Elena took deep and slow breaths, trying to calm down.

'I'm – I'm sorry. I wasn't observant. I panicked,' she explained after a while.

'It's okay,' Damon assured her.

Elena slowly regained composure and became aware of how close she was to Damon. It made her feel uncomfortable. She wanted to let go of him quickly but that would be too obvious and embarrassing.

'Thanks. I'm okay,' she said now and let go of him. 'I'm sorry I forced you to become involved though you didn't want to.'

'No, it's okay. Actually, I should've expected this to happen,' Damon said. 'You need to be trained. Otherwise it won't work.'

'I'm better now. Let's try it again,' Elena suggested.

'Elena? Did you hear a word of what I just said? We won't try it again before I'm sure you are ready. Come on.' He got up and pulled her to her feet. 'I'll take you home.'

They started walking back to the Salvatore manor. Elena felt terrible. She could have done better. Damon probably thought she was coward. She could slap herself. In the end she embarrassed herself in front of Damon anyway. Their walk to the manor was silent and their drive to Elena's house, too. They only started talking again when Elena opened the door to get out.

'Yes, I'm fine. Thank you.'

'For what.'

'For being here,' she answered smiling. Damon looked at her puzzled. The impact of her words hit him with full might. Did she just say that she was actually glad that she was with her? 'Good night, Damon.'

'Good night, Elena. See you at school,' he said.

'Definitely,' she confirmed and slammed the door shut.

Damon watched her get safely into the house before he pulled out of the lot and drove home himself.


	11. Standing In-Between

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this chapter isn't as long as the others because I didn't want to squeeze to much plot into one chapter. Everything else I've planned will follow in the coming chapters. I included something from 'A Few Good Men' in this chapter but not in its original form. The dialogue between Jenna and Alaric and how imagined it to be before I watched the recent episode. Enjoy!

The following days Damon and Elena met at school, not spending a single thought on their hunting sessions. Damon had promised to train Elena but he hadn't told her a specific time. Instead they were just spending their time talking about not-vampire-related things, interviewed and got to know each other better. Spending the breaks with Damon also ment a sacrifice and that was Elena's friendship with Bonnie and Caroline. The two girls obviously disapproved of Elena's friendship with Damon. Not only because they thought he was an evil bastard but also because they were missing out because of him in views of hanging out with Elena. They were missing Elena and reproaching her for ignoring and forgetting them and they were blaming Damon for it. What had happened that Elena and Damon had gotten so close over time, was what they were wondering desperately and they almost wished for Stefan to return because he at least had taken their feelings into regard whereas Damon didn't care at all. Every now and then they met Elena in the hall by the lockers alone but those were very rare occasions and when they did they barely talked to her. This morning however they deliberately addressed her.

'Good morning, Elena,' Caroline said emphatically.

'Good morning,' Elena greeted back smiling. 'How are you?'

'Oh, don't pretend to care,' Bonnie said pointedly.

'What? Of course I care. What's the matter with you?'

'Did you by any chance notice that we haven't talked to each other since like forever?' Caroline asked.

'Yeah, I did.' She looked at them questioningly. 'Why?'

'Can't you figure it out on your own?'

'Well, no. What's your problem?' Elena demanded.

'Our problem is your irritating accessory!' Bonnie stated and when Elena didn't understand at first she added 'Damon!'

'What about him?' Elena didn't understand at all.

'You've been spending more time with him than with us!' Caroline flared up. 'He's always with you!'

'Now I get it,' Elena said and almost laughed in relief. 'You're jealous.'

'No, we're not jealous!' Bonnie contradicted. 'We just can't understand why you're hanging out with him although you know what a terrible monster he is! A monster who doesn't give a damn about other people and their feelings!'

'Bonnie, if you're talking about your Grams, you need to let it go.'

'I can't!' she shouted. 'I'll never be able to forget it and I don't want to, either! I can't believe i! First Grams, now you. I'm losing everyone because of him!'

'I'll stick with you, Bonnie,' Caroline said soothingly rubbing Bonnie's arm.

Elena felt helpless. She hadn't expected such an outburst from her friends. She hadn't noticed that hanging out with Damon was hurting them so much.

'You're not losing me,' she promised. 'You still mean much more to me than Damon and you should never doubt it!'

'Well, right now, I find it hard to believe you with him walking straight towards you,' Caroline said coldly, looking past Elena to see Damon walking up to them. 'Call us when you got rid of your accessory.'

She gave Elena one last despiteful look before she left, dragging Bonnie along. Elena stared after them, speechless. She felt awful. Her friends had made clear that they believed that she preferred Damon's company over theirs. But she thought differently. Damon could never replace her friends. How could she convince them of that?

'Morning. Did something happen? You look down.' Damon had reached her and looked at her worryingly.

'Don't pretend you didn't listen,' Elena snapped irritated. 'This is entirely your fault! If you wouldn't bother me at school everything would be fine but you even have to irritate me here. Just go and leave me alone. Call me when you have work for me.'

And with that left him all alone by the lockers.

* * *

Elena hurried down the hall into the lunchroom, looking for her friends. She was extremely mad at Damon. He always stepped between her and her friends. She had thought she could keep both friendships intact but it was obviously impossible and if she really had to choose she would rather choose her long-term friends over her recently-found friendship with Damon.

As expected she found Bonnie and Caroline in the lunchroom. She walked over to their table, nearly exploding in anger.

'What are you doing, Elena?'

'I'm proving a point. I hope you're happy with it,' she broke it to them.

'Hey, where's your accessory?'

'That's the point I'm trying to prove!' Elena said angrily. 'I made him leave. You mean so much more to me than he does!'

'You don't seem very happy about it,' Bonnie observed. 'Are you falling for him?'

'No! I'm not! I'm in love with Stefan as you know well!'

'If you're not attracted to him then why do you hang out with him?' Caroline inquired.

Elena sighed and sat down opposite them. 'He isn't the monster that you imagine him to be. He's different. He's changed.'

'Did you change him?'

'No, he did it all by himself. I think it's because of the whole Katherine story. It took him down, lowered his ego,' Elena explained. 'I've spent enough time with him to be able to judge him. I saw another side of him. He can be different.'

'You still haven't told us why you're hanging out with him.'

Elena sighed again. 'Because he's been a great support for me these days. Remember when I holed myself up in my room after Stefan left? If it weren't for Damon I'd still be that miserable.' She fumbled on her bracelets while she spoke. 'I know Damon cannot replace Stefan and I don't want him to. I like him the way he is. He's funny and caring and protective. And I'd never discovered this side of him if I hadn't hung out with him. Of course he's still a vampire. He killed people to feed on them but that's part of his nature. But, he doesn't kill people randomly anymore. He's over that. I asked him to stick to Stefan's animal blood diet… And believe it or not, spending time with Damon definitely helped getting over my grief,' Elena concluded.

During her speech Elena had stared at the table but now she looked up to meet her friends' gaze. She expected them to contradict her, tell her that she was wrong about Damon but they didn't. They exchanged a guilty look and pursed their lips. Some more seconds passed before Bonnie spoke.

'We didn't know that he means so much to you,' she admitted. 'We thought he's confused your mind or that you are plain crazy.'

'But we would have never thought that he can actually help you,' Caroline continued.

'We'd rather _we_ could help you get over your grief but apparently we can't. If he means so much to you and you he's different now we'll try to believe you. Although it's really hard but maybe you're right.'

'It's not only that, you know,' Elena started again. 'It's also kind of relieving to talk to someone who is a vampire about vampires. I didn't see it at first but he's incredibly smart and has so much experience of life. And he can help me investigate my adoption. He knows why I'm looking like Katherine, he told me that, but he doesn't want to tell me because he doesn't want me to be upset. See? He cares. He keeps secrets from me but at least he's not lying to me to make me feel better like Stefan did. He's always honest with me and I can trust him blindly. That's what I really appreciate that.'

* * *

Outside in the hall Damon was listening, using his vampire powers to catch every word of their conversation. He had eavesdropped on them all the time and was glad that he had. He had found out some interesting things about Elena's feelings that could come in handy someday. And he was of course happy that she was returning his trust blindly.

He smiled and turned around to leave. After he'd heard that Elena wasn't really mad at him for keeping her company but was actually enjoying it he gladly fulfilled her request to leave her alone until he needed her.

* * *

At the same time in the streets of Mystic Falls Jenna was on her way to the supermarket to get some groceries. Her thoughts were completely occupied with Elena, her birth mother and her possible connection to Alaric Saltzman via Isabol. After all it would be a big coincidence if there were two people called Isabol who had absolutely no connection to each other. No, Jenna felt sure that Alaric's wife was Elena's birth mother. She just had to prove it.

Speaking of the devil Alaric was approaching her in just this moment. His thoughts were occupied with Isabol, too, and his revenge on Damon which he would hopefully have soon.

Neither Jenna nor Alaric paid attention to the world around them so they didn't notice each other approaching and were both surprised when they bumped into each other.

'Oh, I'm sorry.'

'Me, too.'

'Oh, it's you, Jenna.'

'Hey, Alaric. Sorry for the bump. I completely spaced out,' Jenna apologized.

'It's okay. Actually, I did, too.'

They shared a smile.

'And, um, where are you headed?' Alaric asked conversationally.

'Oh, just to the supermarket. Stock up, you know,' she answered. 'And you?'

'Oh, I was just going to have a coffee. I've got a free period,' he explained. He waited for her 'I see' and then added 'Care to join me?'

'Oh, yes, sure.'

They smiled again and entered the next café where they took a seat and ordered something to drink. They drank their coffee in silence. None of them said a word. Jenna's thoughts were back to Isabol.

'Is something wrong?' Alaric asked after a while. 'You're so pensive.'

'No, it's alright.' Jenna quickly waved it off. 'I'm sorry. I spaced out again.' She took another sip, then she said 'No, you're right. There's something. We need to talk. About Isabol.'

Alaric nearly choked on his coffee. That was completely unexpected for him. 'About Isabol?' he repeated suspiciously. 'Why?'

'Tell me why you came to Mystic Falls,' Jenna inquired. 'Did you approach me because you hope to find something out about her?'

Alaric stared at her for a moment, taken aback by her bluntness and exhaled deeply. 'I'm honest with you, Jenna. I came to Mystic Falls to do some research. Something told me I'd find the murderer of my wife here and I did. But I didn't approach you because of it. I'm telling you the truth. Anyway, why do you ask?'

'I'll tell you in a minute but first I'll have to ask you something else,' Jenna replied, looking earnest. 'Did you and Isabol have a child?'

'No, we didn't. In the end we ran out of time,' Alaric answered. 'But now tell me, why do you ask?'

Jenna sighed. 'Well, it's about Elena. She's adopted and her birth mother is called Isabol like your wife.'

Alaric's eyes widened. 'What? It must be a coincidence. Isabol never got pregnant.'

'Do you have a picture of her with you? I'd like to take a look at her just to get sure,' Jenna asked.

'Yes, of course,' Alaric said. 'But I'm telling you, it can't be my Isabol.'

He took a photograph out of his jacket and showed it to her.

'Oh my God!' Jenna exclaimed. 'That's her!'

'What?'

'I'm positive. This is the woman who gave birth to Elena. I've seen her picture. My brother showed it to me back then.'

'But how can that be?' Alaric wondered aghast.

'Maybe she hid her pregnancy from you,' Jenna suggested.

'But why should she have done that?'

'I don't know. But the resemblance is too strong and she resembles Elena, too!' Jenna said excitedly. 'Look, I know this is a bombshell for you, now but we have to find out if you're Elena's biological father. You have to have you tested. I can help you. I can get her hair–'

'Yeah. Yeah, I'll do it,' Alaric said absent-mindedly. 'I… I need to go now. I'll call you. Bye, Jenna.'

'Oh, okay. Bye,' Jenna said a little disappointed and watched him walk out of the café.


	12. Welcome to the Masquerade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Even if you're not in a relationship like me you can still celebrate this day with self care! :) I know I am late with the chapters. Sorry for that. I got so lost in Sony Vegas. So, two chapters on a Sunday it is. Enjoy!

**Flashback**

_Elena was running down the stairs. She was late. Damon was already waiting thirty minutes for her. Not to mention that he had already called thrice to ask where the hell she was. Now finally she had all her things together for a sleepover at the Salvatore manor and was on her way there. At the door she met Jeremy._

_'I'm out. Tell Jenna I'll be back tomorrow by dinner, will you?' Elena said and grabbed her keys._

_'Are you going to Damon?' Jeremy inquired._

_'Yeah. Why?'_

_'Maybe you shouldn't spend so much time with him.'_

_'What?' Elena was confused. 'Why not?'_

_'I don't know. I think there's something off about him.'_

_'You played video games together,' Elena reminded him._

_'Yeah but still. Just be careful, okay?'_

_'Always am. Don't worry. See you tomorrow,' Elena said smiling and left._

**End of Flashback**

* * *

Elena didn't think she would see Damon soon. Not before the weekend and she was even a little glad about it. Now she had finally some time for herself which she absolutely needed now and then. To write in her diary or to do other things like studying for school.

However everything wasn't as great as it seemed. First Elena got loads of homework for her biology class and then when she came home and turned on her computer, the system stopped first and then didn't work at all anymore. Elena buried her face in her hands. So much bad luck on one day was impossible.

Frustrated she walked into the hallway where she met Jeremy who was zipping up his jacket.

'Hey, where are you going?' she asked him.

'Just to the video store. I'll be back in an hour,' he answered.

'Okay. Hey, um, can I borrow your computer to do some research for school? My system just broke down.'

'Sure. I can take a look at it later if you want,' he offered.

'Yes, that would be great,' she said gratefully.

'Okay, see you later.'

'Bye.'

Jeremy left and Elena entered his room. She sat down in front of his computer and launched Firefox. Then she searched for Wikipedia in Jeremy's bookmarks. She didn't find it but lots of articles on vampires and their possible existence instead.

'What the…? Oh, no!'

She grabbed the cordless on Jeremy's desk and dialed.

* * *

Damon was just walking into the parlor, wondering what to do with his evening. He had narrowed down his options to feed, party or watch TV. He was just about to make a final decision when his cell phone rang. He glanced at the display to find Elena was calling.

'Damon Salvatore, may I help you?' he asked cockily. 'You know after this morning I shouldn't be talking to you at all.'

'I know. I wouldn't call if it wasn't important,' Elena said.

'Fine. Spill.'

'We have a problem. Please come over.'

'Why? What happened?' Damon demanded.

'I think Jeremy knows vampires really exist,' Elena explained.

'What?! I'll be over soon.'

He hung up and rushed away.

* * *

Meanwhile Jeremy had reached the video store and tried to decide which movie he should rent when he saw someone he knew enter the store. It was Tyler Lockwood. Jeremy walked over to him.

'What do you want, Gilbert?' Tyler asked irritated.

'You have to explain something to me,' Jeremy answered. 'I don't get you, man. First you tell me to back off and then you want to party with me.' He was hinting at the party at Fell's church.

Tyler sighed. 'Look, I was drunk the other day, okay?' Everything I said then is total BS. So, forget it, okay? I don't know why you're keeping your hopes up and for what. We'll never be friends, Gilbert. So, just back off.'

And with that he left the video store. Outside on the street he sighed deeply. He walked to his car, recalling a recent conversation with his father.

* * *

**Flashback**

_'Stay away from that Gilbert kid,' said Mayor Lockwood. 'His ancestor hunted vampires and I don't know if he knew of us and how he'd think of us. He'd probably see us as a threat, too. So, don't let Gilbert get to you. We don't know how much they told him.'_

**End of Flashback**

* * *

Tyler reached his car, got in and started the engine. He gave the video a last look and then he drove away.

* * *

Five minutes after Elena had called Damon rang the doorbell of the Gilbert residence. Elena was there at once to let him in.

'So, why do you think he knows?' he came straight to the point.

'Come, I'll show you,' Elena said.

They went upstairs into Jeremy's bedroom and Elena showed him the websites Jeremy had bookmarked.

''Vampires in the real world?' That's bad,' Damon commented.

'I don't understand,' Elena said. 'I thought you'd erased his memories of Vicky.'

'I did,' Damon confirmed. 'He must have witnessed something after that.'

'They looked at each other for a moment and then it hit them.

'Anna.'

'But how?'

'Ahhh, I know. How could I've been so stupid,' Elena groaned. 'Back then when we opened the tomb. He told me he was okay. I should have let you erase his mind.'

'But what exactly did he see?'

'I don't know. He was unconscious during the ritual. There must have happened something with Anna before. Maybe she lost control in front of him.'

'Maybe,' Damon said. 'She didn't feed on him or the other guy?'

'No, I checked. There were no bite marks.'

'Mmh,' Damon mused. 'Well, you have to talk to him about it.'

'Yeah, I was going to, anyway.'

'Not because he simply knows but because of what he might do when he finds out more. About the Salvatore brothers for instance,' Damon specified.

'What do you mean?' Elena asked confused.

'Well, unlike you he's a direct descendent from Jonathan Gilbert and read his journal and–'

'You think–?'

'Well, I don't know. I don't Jeremy the way you do,' Damon said. 'You tell me. Would he feel obligated to do something about it if he found out more?'

Elena stared at him for a second, trying to comprehend what Damon was driving at.

'I – I don't know,' she said hesitantly. 'I honestly can't tell. I never really took it into consideration that the journal might influence or aggravate him. God, that mustn't happen. We – we have to stop him.'

'Well, first you talk to him. He's already on his way home,' Damon told her.

'How–? Oh, right, super far hearing ability,' she remembered. 'He's early. He said he'd be gone for an hour.'

Just in that moment they heard the front door open and close. Elena stepped into the hallway.

'Jeremy, is that you?'

'Yeah, it's me,' he called back.

'Can you come upstairs for a minute, please,' Elena asked.

'Sure.'

Elena walked back into the room and waiting for her brother to come.

'Is it about your computer?' they could hear him ask. Then he entered and saw them standing there, arms crossed. 'Whoa, what's this? What did I do?'

'You've got some serious explaining to do,' Elena said. She pointed at the computer screen. The sites about vampires were still open.

'What's this? Are you spying on me now? Ever heard of private sphere?' Jeremy inquired angrily.

'I wasn't spying on you,' Elena clarified. 'I checked your bookmarks for Wikipedia and then I saw these weird sites you've been on. And I wonder why.'

Jeremy sighed in defeat.

'Sit,' Damon said and pointed at the bed. 'This may take a while.'

'What have you got to do with it?' Jeremy demanded and slumped on his bed.

'We'll tell you, Jeremy,' Elena promised and sat down beside him. 'But you first.'

Jeremy glanced at Damon who looked sternly back then he sighed again and started telling them what got him so interested in vampires.

'You, um, remember Anna?' Elena nodded. 'She helped me with my history essay back then. Made me focus the town's fear of monsters like vampires in the 17th century. She was always insisting on the possibility that the stories could be real. Of course I didn't believe her. I thought she was just fascinated by them. Then at the party at the old Fell's church something weird happened. I kissed her and…' He paused a second. 'And her eyes started to change. They were getting darker and her face changed, too.'

Elena exchanged at look with Damon. They knew they were thinking the same thing. Jeremy looked at both of them confused.

'You don't seem surprised. You don't think I'm nuts.' That was a statement, not a question.

'Well, I'm not,' Elena said. 'Because… that's what happens everytime Stefan and I get close to each other.' Out of the corner of her eye she saw Damon squirm. She looked at him questioningly but he ignored her, watching Jeremy closely.

'You're not going to ask her about that?' he asked him.

'Of course I am!' Jeremy said. 'Will somebody please tell me what's going on?'

Damon looked at Elena. 'I hope you prepared a good speech. Mind what I said to you earlier.'

'Yeah, I'm not dumb, you know?' Elena replied slightly irritated. She looked at her brother. 'Before I start we have to set some rules. You're gonna listen till I'm finished without interrupting and you won't tell anyone about it, got it?' Jeremy nodded. 'Okay. Well, your instincts don't play a trick on you. It's true. Vampires exist. They did back then and they still do today.' She let that sink in for a second before she continued. 'But it's not that easy. As crazy as it sounds, not all vampires are bad. In this regard they are similar to humans. There are good and evil vampires like there are good and evil humans. The good vampires are so-called vegetarians–' Elena was interrupted by Damon burst out laughing. 'What? It's like that, isn't it?' she said. 'Because they feed on animal blood whereas the bad vampires feed on human blood. You understand? A vampire can make the choice whether he wants to be good or bad. They can control their thirst.'

'Vampires can feed on animal blood?' Jeremy repeated.

'Yeah.' Now Damon spoke because it was his field of expertise. 'They can. It keeps them alive, too, just doesn't make them as strong as human blood does.'

'How do you know about all that stuff?' Jeremy inquired now. 'It was big news to me when I found out that vampires might actually be real but you're so calm.'

Damon and Elena exchanged another look.

'I've known about this for a couple of months now,' Elena admitted. 'At first I was terrified after a while I didn't feel that way around some of them anymore because I learned about their personal choice. I'm sorry, I didn't tell you. I didn't want to scare you.'

'I'm not scared,' Jeremy said and Damon scoffed. 'I'm really not. What about him by the way? Jeremy demanded. 'Is he a vampire?'

He asked a direct question so he deserved a direct answer but Elena hesitated. She glanced at Damon, sort of looking for his permission to tell Jeremy.

'It's your decision,' Damon said as if he knew what she was thinking. 'I can take care of myself. If you want him to know then go ahead.'

Elena turned to Jeremy, partly afraid of his reaction to what she would tell him now.

'Yes, he is. Damon is a vampire and Stefan is one, too.'

'I knew there was something off about you,' Jeremy said to Damon. 'I sensed it somehow.'

Damon wasn't impressed. 'You're a Gilbert. It's in your genes.'

'Good or evil?'

'Depends.'

'Damon!' Elena rebuked him sternly. 'Don't listen to him. He likes to play the bad guy but he's actually good,' Elena explained. Damon scoffed again.

'Now you know. So, what are you gonna do? Are you planning to kill me?' he mocked.

Jeremy thought about that. 'No, I'm not. As long as you don't kill or bite anyone, I won't kill you.'

'Thank you so much.' Again Damon was mocking. 'Like you could do anything to me at all.'

'Damon!'

'What? He's like what? 15? What can he do?'

'Be careful. You might think differently about it if I ever find a reason to kill you,' Jeremy threatened.

'Alright, that's it, you two,' Elena intervened. 'Damon, don't even start and Jeremy, I assure you he won't do anything.'

'How can you be sure?' It couldn't be more obvious that Jeremy didn't trust Damon which was probably pretty healthy.

'Because it is in his interest to stay here in Mystic Falls. Alive,' she added. She met Damon's gaze who held it for a second before he averted his.

'So…' Jeremy kept asking. 'What about Anna?'

'I don't know,' Elena said. 'I don't know her enough to judge her but she lured you away from everyone and she was going to make a midnight snack out of you so…'

'No, Anna's not evil, Damon contradicted. 'She is good, too, if you really want to call a vampire good. She was only different because he wanted to get her mother back. That made her go over dead bodies. Well, it never came to that. But aside from that incident Anna and her mother Pearl are… I lack the words to describe them.'

'Peaceful maybe?' Elena suggested.

'Yeah. Sounds strange, though.'

Elena chuckled.

'And what about Vicky?' Jeremy asked now, his voice barely above a whisper.

Elena's eyes widened in horror. 'Vicky?' She turned to Damon. I thought you'd made him forget.'

'If he sees something familiar it triggers the memories to come back,' Damon explained.

'It's okay,' Jeremy said. 'I remember everything again. She tried to bite me and Stefan staked her. Has she always been a vampire?'

'No. She was turned,' Elena told him, careful not to mention who had turned her. 'And I'm sorry about you losing her. She made the wrong choice. She was driven by insatiable bloodlust. Stefan had no other choice.'

'I understand.' Jeremy sighed. 'So, who bit her?'

'Oh, will you please not believe every crap about vampires?' Damon groaned. 'You don't turn into a vampire after you're bitten by one. You have to have vampire blood in your system when you die. Then and only then you'll turn into a vampire. Well, and now?' Damon asked Elena. 'What are you gonna do? Do you want me to erase his memories of everything?'

'No!' Jeremy refused.

'Jeremy, believe me, it's better this way. I'd rather forget everything, too.'

'No.' Jeremy shook his head. 'I don't want to forget.'

'Do you want to worry about this all the time? Be scared all the time?'

'I told you I'm not scared. I can take this. I can deal with it, really. And I wanna prepared if anything ever happens,'

'Fair enough,' Damon commented.

'Okay but you mustn't tell anyone,' she reminded him.

'I'm not stupid,' Jeremy said. 'I can keep a secret. Who else knows about this?'

'Bonnie and Caroline,' Elena answered. 'And Alaric Saltzman.'

'Saltzman?' Jeremy repeated surprised.

'Yeah, he's having a pretty good hunch,' Damon said. 'Just like the Council and the sheriff. But they don't suspect me because as you might have noticed I don't burn in the sun.'

'Yeah. How do you pull that off, anyway?'

'I have a ring that protects me,' Damon explained, sounding bored. This never-ending interrogation was irritating him.

'You know, Saltzman has such a ring, too,' Jeremy told them.

'Yeah, but Saltzman isn't a vampire, Jeremy,' Elena said. 'He's human. But he has some grudge against vampires.'

'Why?'

'I don't know.'

'So is that it, now?' Damon asked. 'If so, I'm gonna leave now.'

'Where are you going?' Elena asked back.

'I'm hungry,' he said plainly. 'I'm going into the woods, rip a Bambi.'

'Yeah, thanks for the image,' Elena said disgusted. 'You can go.'

'See you then. Bye,' Damon said and left.

Elena turned to Jeremy. 'You okay?'

'Yeah, it's just pretty much, you know? I can hardly believe it.'

'Well, you have to. It's real and we can't run away from it. We can just accept it as a part of our lives and make the best out of it.'

'And you're not afraid of him?' Jeremy asked.

'No.'

'Why not?'

'Because I trust him that he won't hurt me.'

* * *

Jenna was just leaving from work. This day hadn't been very productive. Again and again her thoughts had drifted away to Alaric. She was waiting for his call. As agreed they'd left some DNA if Alaric and Elena at an institute to be compared for similarities. And now they were waiting for the results.

Jenna walked to her car and got in. she was just about to start the engine when her cell phone went off. The display told her Alaric was calling. She took a deep breath and answered.

'Hello?'

'Hi, Jenna. I've got the results. Can we meet somewhere?'

'Yes, of course.'

They agreed to meet in front of the café they'd gone to the last time they'd met. They sat down at table but didn't order anything yet. Thinking they might not be thirsty after they knew the results.

'I didn't want to open it without you,' Alaric explained. 'Somehow I didn't dare.'

'It's okay. I'm here for you now. Whatever it may be, okay?' Jenna said encouragingly.

Slowly and carefully Alaric opened the envelope and unfolded the sheet of paper inside it. His face was absolutely blank when he looked at it. Without a word he passed the results to Jenna. Her eyes widened.

'Negative!'

'Negative,' Alaric confirmed.

'But that means–!'

Either it meant that Isabol had been pregnant before she had met Alaric or she'd cheated on him.

'How old is Elena?' Alaric asked quietly.

'She'll turn 18 soon,' Jenna told him.

'Isabol died last year and we've been together for 16 years.'

Now the case was clear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was it too much information at once? I hope not. Finally the story goes on little. Jeremy knows now which is probably partly a relieve for Elena but as Damon said she should mind his words. He's a Gilbert after all and hunting vampires is in his genes. Oh, did I just spoiler you? Whoops..
> 
> And then the whole Isabol story. Hehe, this will be interesting in the future, too ;)
> 
> The only thing I didn't include in this chapter was Alaric's try to get his revenge but hey, what is it? Chapter 12? No end in sight so far. Still enough room for that particular scene XD


	13. Dance With The Devil

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About the chapter: Last time I told you the scene in which Alaric tries to get his revenge will appear in this fanfic someday. Now I can tell you that it appear in exactly this chapter! It's not as exciting as in the TV series but I hope you like it anyway.
> 
> Also: As you might have noticed my chapters often are named after songs. And usually I start each chapter with some lyrics of the song the chapter is named after. I'll start it in this fanfic now, too.
> 
> Enjoy!

_Here I st_ _and, helpless and left for dead_

_I won't stay long, in this world so wrong_

_Trembling, crawling across my skin  
Feeling your cold dead eyes, stealing the life of mine_

_Say goodbye, as we dance with the devil tonight  
Don't you dare look at him in the eye, as we dance with the devil tonight_

* * *

'So, are you looking forward to your big day tomorrow, sis?' Jeremy asked Elena during breakfast.

'Not really.' Elena replied. Somehow she had always imagined her 18th birthday to be different. A big party with everyone she loved. Her whole family and all of her friends… But it wouldn't be like that. At least not concerning the family part. Her brother Jeremy and her aunt Jenna were all she'd left of her family. Her adoptive parents were dead. Her birth mother Isabol was somewhere, unable for her to reach and her birth father was still unknown.

Sure, this birthday would blast… unlikely.

'Don't pull such a face,' Jenna said. 'We'll make it an unforgettable event for you. Jeremy and I have been planning it for months.'

'Yeah,' Jeremy agreed. 'Don't blow it.'

A small smile appeared on her face. 'Fine. If you say so I'll actually be looking forward to it. Well, I have to go,' Elena said now. 'Damon's probably waiting for me outside.'

'He seems to be a nice guy that Damon,' Jenna said. 'Considering that he's taking you along to school and spending so much time with you.'

Elena grinned. 'What are you driving at, Jenna?'

'Nothing. I just wondered if you'd like to invite him for tomorrow,' Jenna mused aloud.

Elena chuckled. 'Actually I was going to invite him… if he behaves today,' she added.

'Wonderful.'

Elena shook her head, smiling and walked to the front door. She opened it to see Alaric Saltzman standing outside.

'Oh, good morning, Mr Saltzman.'

'Good morning, Elena,' Saltzman greeted her back, smiling.

His smile was creepy. As if he had to force it.

'Jenna! It's Mr. Saltzman!'

Jenna was immediately at the door.

'Hey,' she said when she saw Saltzman. 'See you in the afternoon,' she added to Elena, clearly asking her to leave now.

Elena found her behavior odd but said bye and got into Damon's car.

* * *

This was obviously not his day, Alaric thought. It already had a bad start when he met the murderer of his wife Isabol in front of his lover Jenna's house. But if he thought it couldn't get worse he was mistaken. When he rang the doorbell of the Gilbert residence no one else than Elena opened the door. Elena, the daughter of Isabol but… not his daughter. He was immediately reminded of that at her sight. And again it got worse. Elena walked past him and got into the car of his Isabol's murderer. It all seemed so surreal to him. He watched them drive away and stared after them until they were out of sight.

'Nice of him to take her along, isn't it?' Jenna's voice brought him back from his trance.

'Not really,' he said bitterly. 'Maybe you should talk to Elena about him, Jenna.'

'Why?'

'I've seen him before. He's the one who killed my wife. The one who killed Isabol.'

Jenna's eyes widened in horror.

* * *

'Thank you by the way,' Damon said smugly when he pulled out of the parking lot. 'For hanging out with me again and allowing me to go to school instead of dying of boredom.'

'You're welcome.' Elena grinned.

'Damon looked at her with his sunglasses slightly down and grinned back. 'Don't play pretend. You needed a ride.'

'True. Jenna needs her car to drive to work.'

Damon smiled about her bluntness but his smile quickly disappeared.

'Is your aunt dating Saltzman now?' he asked earnest.

'Yeah, I guess so. But I wonder why he came back. He said he'd leave Mystic Falls.'

'Maybe he never left,' Damon suggested darkly.

'Yeah, maybe.'

'Something's off about him.'

'Think he's suspecting you?' Elena asked.

'No, that's not it.' Damon shook his head. 'There's something else. Can't describe it. I just know it.'

'Mmh,' Elena thought about this but then gave it up because she couldn't think of another reason for Saltzman to be after Damon other than he knew he was a vampire. 'Well, anyway, it's, um, my birthday tomorrow and I'm, um, Jenna said I should invite you.'

'Give her my thanks but unfortunately I'm already booked,' Damon replied.

' _What?!_ '

'Yeah, well, not booked but I'm waiting for someone else to invite me to her party,' Damon explained.

' _Her?!_ ' Elena repeated and couldn't hide her jealousy.

'Yup.'

'So, um, who is it? Do I know her?'

'Yeah, I think so,' Damon said. 'She's, um, tall… slender… with brown hair and amazing brown eyes.'

'I see,' Elena said. She shouldn't be surprised, she thought. Damon never turned a woman down. Not that she had expected him to like her someday or to come to her stupid party… It was probably below him…

'And she'll turn 18 tomorrow,' Damon concluded and put on a smug.

It took Elena some seconds to process what he had just said before she realized he'd been talking about her all the time.

'Me?'

'I'll only come to your party if I receive an exclusive invitation from no one but you. Not your aunt, you.'

Elena smiled. 'So, I'm happily inviting you to my birthday party tomorrow.'

'Did I hear 'party'?' Damon asked eagerly. 'When shall I be there?'

Elena laughed. Damon gave her smile, not a smugly, not a cockily but a genuine smile.

'Be there at six,' she told him.

'I will.'

'Good.'

* * *

It was late. School was over and Damon had driven Elena home. Afterwards he had gone to the grill to have a drink, some kind of an evening routine. While he knocked back his bourbon he checked his cell phone for missed calls or messages. He had none of them. He had not really expected to receive one but he was beginning to wonder what his brother was doing. He hadn't expected Stefan to stay away for long or be gone without leaving Elena a message once. But that was the case. No sound, no trace from Stefan whatsoever. What the heck was he doing? Truth be told Damon didn't really miss him. If Stefan came back now he'd just spoil the fun he could have with Elena. But with her birthday tomorrow it was more than likely than he would come back.

So much for the fun…

He knocked back another shot before calling it a day. He walked back to the manor, still with Elena on his mind. He wanted to get her something – after all she only turned 18 once – but he couldn't think of a present she'd like. Completely lost in thoughts he didn't notice anything before he entered the house. But once inside he sensed a human aura, rather sensed his scent. Someone was in the house and he was vengeful.

Slowly, not daring to let his guard down, he made his way to the parlor. Thanks to his vampire eyes he could see everything as clear as at daytime. If someone was waiting for him in the parlor he would see him before he could move and if he was coming down the stairs and sneaking up on him he'd hear him.

Carefully he stepped into the parlor and looked around. Although he didn't need it he turned on the light. Maybe it'd scare the intruder off.

That wasn't exactly what happened.

As soon as the light was on someone grabbed his shoulders and jumped on his back. Damon balance and fell on the floor with the intruder hovering above him. He felt something sharp graze his chest while trying to shake the intruder off. He didn't need to look down to know that it was a stake. Angry he took a look at the man who was pinning him to the floor.

It was Alaric Saltzman.

Damon was confused. ' _You_?'

'Me,' Alaric said breathless.

'What the hell are you doing?!' Damon demanded while pushing away the stake that Saltzman kept pointing at him. 'What do you want from me?!'

'You killed me wife!'

'What?' Damon stared at him for a second than groaned. 'I'm so sick of this 'You-killed-my-XXX-and-now-I'll-kill-you crap.'

'Monster!'

'Thanks,' Damon commented bored. 'Not that I care but who was your wife anyway?'

'Her name was Isabol! And she looked like this!' Saltzman took a photograph out of his pocket and showed it to Damon who glanced at it. 'Does it ring any bells?'

'No.'

'You!' Alaric growled and tired to point the stake at Damon again. 'You can't just have forgotten her!'

'Do you think I keep a record of every person I feed on? They're food not trophies. And would you please stop that?' he added.

Using vampire speed he turned the situation around. Now he was pinning Saltzman to the floor. 'See, you have no chance against me. You'll never have the revenge you're seeking. I can kill you in the blink of an eye. You came here for nothing tonight. I'll let you go, now but I swear, one move and I'll really kill because you piss me off, got it?'

Slowly, his eyes fixed on Saltzman, Damon got up, followed by Saltzman.

'Don't ever try that again,' Damon threatened. 'Jenna wouldn't like to see you dead, I suppose.'

Alaric's eyes widened. It was obvious that he hadn't thought of Jenna on his mission once.

'One last question,' he demanded. 'I saw you feed on her. But when I came back from calling the police both of you were gone. There was nothing left of her but blood. What did you do to her?'

'Nothing,' Damon answered. 'I left after I was done with her. Oh, and by the way,' he added. 'You'd probably like to know that I didn't kill her. I didn't drain her completely.'

'You didn't?' Alaric was surprised.

'No, I didn't,' Damon affirmed. 'And now leave, please. We're done here.'

'Not really,' Alaric said. 'I'll be back to get my revenge. After all it's your fault she's missing. Not today but someday I will find a way to kill you.'

Damon smirked like he was thinking Let me see you try. 'If it makes you happy,' he said as if he couldn't care less.

Alaric left now. Damon sighed in irritation and slumped on the couch. The picture of Alaric's life was still there. He picked it up from the floor, looked at it and got lost in thoughts…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I need to explain some thinks. Damon really doesn't remember Isabol at first. And in this fanfic, he didn't turn her. At least not intentionally. I'm saying there will be more to the Isabol story following in the coming chapters.
> 
> Did I make you curious? XD
> 
> By the way, the next chapter is, have a guess, about Elena's birthday of course. And remember by now this entire fic is as far away from canon as it gets. ;)


	14. The Best Thing

_Always knew I'd find someone  
I never dreamt i_ _t'd be like this  
You've surpassed all that I've hoped for (and ever wished)  
And I'm tryin 'so hard with all my heart and mind  
To make your life as good as you've made mine_

_I'll go back to before we met  
Nothing will ever be as good as here and now  
Cause when I looked into your eyes and you dared to stare right back  
You should've said "Nice to meet you, I'm your other half"_

_All I'm gonna have i_ _s all that you can give me  
And I'll give right back everything I have in me  
Cause nothing ever felt as right as this does right now_

_This is the best thing, t_ _he best thing that could be happening  
and I think you would agree  
The best thing is that it's happening to you and me_

* * *

Elena's birthday started quite unspectacular. She woke up in the morning and had breakfast with her family like everyday. The rest of the day she spent in her room waiting for her cue. At four p.m. her grandparents from her father's side came for coffee and cake. At the same time Bonnie, Caroline and Matt arrived.

Elena received her presents and was finally allowed to open them. The first present was from Jeremy. It was a sketch of her. It was really good because the Elena on the paper looked exactly like her. Elena smiled and hugged him. Then she went for the next present but Jenna stopped her.

'Take the other one first,' she said.

Elena looked at her questioningly before she grabbed the other present.

'That's from us,' Caroline told her and pointed at Bonnie, Matt and herself.

It was a set of jewelry with a bracelet, ear rings and a necklace.

'Oh, they're beautiful! Thank you!' Elena said and hugged her friends.

'You're welcome,' Bonnie said smiling.

Now there was only one present left. Elena figured it was from the whole family. It was hidden in a very small box.

'What's that?' Elena wondered aloud.

'Just open it and see,' Jenna said.

Elena didn't need to be told that twice. She grabbed the box, opened it and took out a key.

'A key?'

'To your new car,' Jenna explained. 'You definitely need your own. I realized that over the last couple of months. It's outside if you want to take a look at it.'

'Oh my god!' Elena exclaimed.

She jumped to her feet and ran outside to take a look at her new car. It was a blue-metallic Ford Verve Sedan and it looked absolutely gorgeous. Elena put the key into the locket and opened the door and took a look inside. The car looked great from inside, too.

She got out again and looked over the roof of the car to find her family and friends standing outside, too, smiling. She closed the door of her new car, locked it and walked over to everyone to hug Jenna and her grandparents.

'It's beautiful. Thank you so much!'

'Thank your brother as well,' Jenna said. 'I let him pick it because he's up-to-date with cars.'

'Thanks, Jeremy. Great pick,' Elena said and hugged him, too.

'It's not one of the latest but it looks good and has great statistics,' he explained.

'I love it,' Elena said and made everyone smile. 'Well, let's go inside again. It's chilly outside.'

They went back inside and had a little chit-chat before the tea party at half past five. Jenna and the Gilberts left so that they had the house all to themselves.

'You staying?' Elena asked Jeremy.

'Oh, I think I'll pass,' Jeremy said. 'I'll sleep over at a friend's. Have a good time.'

'Thanks we definitely will,' Elena said and walked them to the door.

'When I come back home I want to find the house as clean as I left it, got it?' Jenna told her.

'Sure thing, Jenna. See you then.'

Once family was out the preparations for the real party could begin.

'Okay. Who's responsible for the music?' Elena asked.

'That would be me,' Matt answered and pointed his bag which was full of CDs.

'Good, then we'll prepare something to eat,' Elena said and entered the kitchen together with Bonnie and Caroline. Matt joined them as soon as the music was playing.

* * *

At six sharp the doorbell rang and Elena nearly flew happily to the door. She couldn't help but feel excited because she knew once Damon was there the party would be great. Hadn't he once said so himself at his birthday party back then? Elena opened the door with force and smiled widely when she saw Damon.

'Whoa. Hi,' he said surprised at her enthusiasm. 'Are you drunk?'

'Not yet,' she said in a sing-song voice. 'Come on in,' she said and pulled him inside.

'By the way, whose freaking gorgeous car is that outside?' Damon demanded.

'You mean the blue Ford?'

'Yeah.'

'That's mine,' Elena told him grinning. 'Now you don't need to take me along to school. I can take my car to get anywhere.'

'Do as you like. Well,' Damon announced. 'After you insisted on celebrating my birthday I'd like to return the favor. All weekend long.'

Elena laughed. 'You're crazy, you know that?'

Damon ignored her remark. 'Starting now,' he continued and revealed a bunch of roses which he handed her. Elena didn't need to count them to know it was 18 roses.

Elena was shocked by his gesture. 'You didn't need to get me something.'

'It's nothing. Just roses.' He shrugged.

'Thank you,' she said and hugged him. 'You knew I'd hug you for that, didn't you?'

'I was hoping for it.' He smirked.

'I guessed so.' She grinned. 'Come on, I just get those some water and a vase and you can say hello to everyone.'

They walked into the kitchen where Bonnie, Caroline and Matt were still preparing snacks. They all said hello to Damon sounding ever so polite like they'd actually mean it but of course Damon knew that they didn't trust him. Elena admired them for their acting skills.

* * *

Half an hour later everything was ready and the party could start. They were dancing, they drinking and they played typical party games like Spin-The-Bottle. The only one who wasn't drunk after an hour was Elena.

'Would you like some, Elena?' Damon asked her cockily and held the bottle of bourbon just above her glass.

'Oh no, better not,' she declined.

'Oh, come on, I know you can be so much fun without your restraint,' Damon insisted. 'Like when we were in Atlanta.'

'God, Damon, shut up, please. That was so embarrassing,' Elena groaned and buried her face in her hands.

Her friends however were curious and urged Damon to tell the story. So he did and Elena wished for the ground to give away and devour her.

'Don't pull such a face, Elena,' Damon said sweetly when he had finished. 'You were fun. So, come on now, show us your party soul,' he added and filled her glass.

'Okay,' Elena gave in. 'But only one glass.'

She raised her glass and sipped, then she shivered violently.

'That tasted different in Atlanta,' she said.

'That's because we didn't have bourbon in Atlanta but quickies,' Damon explained.

'I see. Well, then, cheers, guys,' she said and clinked glasses with everyone.

The alcohol was effective as ever because half an hour later Elena, Bonnie and Caroline were joined in the bathroom while Matt and Damon were talking about music.

'So,' Elena asked. 'Are you enjoying yourselves?'

'Definitely,' they confirmed.

'To be honest, I was little nervous because you and Matt obviously have a past…' Caroline admitted.

'There's no need to worry, Caroline,' Elena told her. 'I've moved on. I'm with Stefan, now.'

She said that reflexively although she wasn't with Stefan right now.

'Has he gotten in touch yet?' Bonnie asked.

'No,' Elena answered sadly. 'But that's not gonna drag me down. I'm happy my friends are here,' she added and put her arms around their shoulders. 'And I want you for not having a go at Damon.'

'We promised you we'd hold back because it's your birthday,' Bonnie said. 'And we accept that you like him.'

'And he's actually fun,' Caroline pointed out.

'Yes, he is,' Elena agreed smiling. 'Come on, let's go back.'

Matt and Damon were still talking eagerly – now about cars – when the girls re-entered the living room. Suddenly a phone rang.

'That's mine,' Elena said.

'Was about time,' Caroline commented.

'I'll turn the music down,' Matt said but Elena stopped him.

'It's okay,' she told him. 'That was my message tone. No need to turn the music down.'

She exchanged a look with Damon and grabbed her phone. As expected she'd received a text message from Stefan. She sighed and opened it to read it.

_Happy Birthday, Elena, love! I'm so sorry I can't be there to celebrate this wonderful day with you. If you'd never been born we'd never met and I'm so happy to know. Unfortunately, I'm really busy at the moment. That's why I couldn't call or text you earlier. But I'll be back as soon as I can. So long goodbye and a happy birthday to you! XXX Stefan_

'Pff.' Elena threw her cell phone on the counter and slumped on the couch beside Damon. For a second she allowed him to see the pain in her eyes.

'You alright, Elena?' Bonnie asked carefully.

'Yes, I'm fine,' Elena answered. 'Nothing's changed, right? I didn't expect him to get in touch anyway. So, let's just continue to party.'

'It's okay if you're sad,' Matt began.

'I'm not sad,' Elena corrected. 'If I was sad I'd kick out now because I wanted to be alone but I don't. So, let's pretend nothing happened, okay?'

She could feel Damon's gaze on her but she didn't dare to meet it. She was afraid he façade would break if she did. Somehow Damon had a talent to see right through her and she didn't want him or everyone else to know that she was upset about Stefan's absence. In fact, she hoped they could distract and cheer her up.

'So, she said. 'How about another round of Spin-The-Bottle? I'm in for fun.'

Her friends were eying her for a moment, obviously not convinced by her good mood but they didn't ask her anymore and sat down for the game.

They played for an hour and Elena started smiling and laughing again soon. Forgotten was her sadness about Stefan's absence. She was enjoying the party again.

After an hour they stopped playing because everyone was already pretty drunk and they didn't want to overdo it. Instead they started talking about this and that. School stuff, music, and cars in case of Damon and Matt.

'So, where's your birthday present for Elena, Damon?' Caroline demanded after a while.

'He brought me flowers,' Elena told her. 'Didn't you see them? They're in the kitchen.'

'Yeah, I did, but that can't be everything right?' Caroline insisted. 'After all you turned 18 today.'

'It's enough for me re–' Elena started but was interrupted by Damon.

'You're right. That can't be it,' he agreed. 'And that's why…' He took something out of the pocket of his shirt and handed it Elena. 'That's why I brought this, too.'

'What is this?' Elena asked, eying the envelope excitedly.

'Open it and you'll see.'

He was giving her one of his rare, genuine smiles again and Elena knew whatever was in that envelope it would be great. Slowly she opened it and took out what was inside.

It was a card. A card to a Breaking Benjamin concert.

'Oh my god!' Elena exclaimed amazed. 'I heard they were all sold!'

'They are,' Damon confirmed. 'Got this last minute.'

'Oh my, this must have been so expensive,' Elena said embarrassed.

'Don't worry about it.' He waved it off. 'You like it?'

'I love it!' Elena exclaimed and threw her arms around him. 'Thank you so much!'

She let go of him and smiled widely while she took a closer look at the card.

'It's tomorrow night in Atlanta…'

'Doesn't it take a day to get there by car?' Matt asked.

'Yeah,' Elena said sadly. 'We'd have to leave about now but I can't. I promised Jenna to clean up.'

'Don't worry about it,' Bonnie said now. 'We'll take care of it.'

'What? No, I can't–'

'Yes, you can and you will,' Caroline agreed with Bonnie. 'Go and have fun. And when you come back everything will be clean.'

'Really?'

'You bet on it,' Matt affirmed.

'Oh, thank you!' Elena said and got up to hug them. 'I'll definitely make up for it, I promise.' Then she walked to the stairs. 'I'll go pack some things. Be right back,' she told them and ran upstairs.

Damon and her friends laughed about her enthusiasm.

'Wow, that was an awesome present idea,' Matt said to Damon. 'Where'd you get the cards so shortly?'

'Connections,' Damon answered casually and helped himself with bourbon. eBay was the right answer. 'Cheers, everyone.'

* * *

Two hours later Damon and Elena were already on the road to Atlanta. Elena was so happy that she couldn't put in into words. She'd never expected Damon to give her something like this for her birthday. Of course she knew that he was getting something out of it, too. Some time alone with her which he had been anticipating for some time now, Elena could tell. She didn't mind at all. In fact, she was looking forward to quality time with Damon, too.

'I still can't believe it, Damon.' She sighed. 'You're unbelievable.'

'Thanks.' He smirked.

'I didn't know what I expected and if I expected anything at all but it certainly wasn't this.'

'I get it, Elena. Calm down,' he replied laughing.

'Oh my god, I just realized I'm not up-to-date with Breaking Benjamin. I know they released a new record but I didn't get to listen to it yet and they'll probably play most of the songs off it, right?'

'Probably,' Damon confirmed and opened the glove compartment. 'But no need to worry, I something that will help you with your dilemma.' He handed her the new Breaking Benjamin album. 'I guess you have enough time to learn the lyrics.'

'I shouldn't be surprised, huh?' Elena said and put the CD into the player.

'I think you'll like it pretty much,' Damon said. 'They are a little calmer now but they're still great.'

'Okay. Shh, I want to listen,' Elena cut him off.

They listened to a couple of songs and Elena liked each of them. If it was possible at all she was even happier now.

'Damon?'

'Mmh?'

'You're gorgeous.'

Damon smiled cockily. 'I knew you'd think so eventually.'

'No, really, you are,' Elena insisted. 'If you get past all your macho and Oh-I'm-so-evil attitude you're a really great guy.'

'Thanks, hun.' He smiled obviously happy and this time Elena didn't even mind him calling her that. It actually started to appeal to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't you agree that Damon is the best thing that could have happen to Elena? ;)
> 
> Back then I wrote this not knowing that Breaking Benjamin would literally spend days on a ship just to tour in Europe and I I'd finally get to see them live. It was one of the best nights of my life. 
> 
> Keep in mind: This fanfiction is very old and very non-canon. I did some research to find that there isn't a BB concert in Atlanta in reality around the time of Elena's birthday (I made up her date of birth because back then I had no clue about her birthday) so I just chose any area they had recently toured. I think it was with Flyleaf and Three Days Grace... but I'm not sure.
> 
> Anyway, I hoped you liked this chapter! The next one will follow tomorrow!


	15. I Will Carry You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a new chapter for you. With everything you're waiting for: action, angst, comfort and (a little) love. I really like this chapter which quite frankly doesn't happen often. I hope you'll like it, too! Enjoy!

_Yeah I know it hurts._

_Yeah I know you're scared walking down the road that leads to who knows where._

_Don't you hang your head don't you give up yet._

_When courage starts to disappear I will be right here._

_When your world breaks down and the voices tell you turn around._

_When your dreams give out, I will carry you.  
When the stars go blind and the darkness starts to flood your eyes. _

_When you're falling behind, I will carry you._

* * *

If Damon had wanted to achieve something with this road trip and concert he would have accomplished his mission perfectly. Elena was pretty psyched even hours after the concert had ended. The wide smile never left her face.

Damon was happy, too, because he had made Elena happy. After that apocalyptic message from his stupid Oh-I'm-so-busy-that-I-can't-even-stop-by-and-say-happy-birthday brother hadn't been sure if he could bring the smile he loved back on her face but he had made it. He was a genius.

The Breaking Benjamin album was still in the player, on repeat for hours but none of them minded. The music only intensified their relishing about the gig. And now they were back on the road, heading home. It seemed like they were spending more time on the road in Damon's car than anywhere else.

"You know," Elena said. 'This is definitely our thing. Road trips."

"Definitely," Damon agreed. "How about we turn around and drive anywhere. Until the gas tank's empty. What do you think?"

"I think you're crazy," Elena answered laughingly. "Maybe next time."

"So you admit you want a next time?"

"Sure, why not."

"Then we'll do it. Anytime you like. I'm always. Always. Just call me."

Elena laughed again. "Calm down. Now we're driving home."

"True, but, correct me if I'm mistaken, vacation started like today, right?"

"Right…"

"So how about you come over for another sleepover. We could party again," Damon suggested.

"Oh, no, no party for at least a week, please," Elena replied. "I'm exhausted."

"Okay."

"But I accept the invitation to a sleepover," Elena added.

"Great!" Damon said, smirking and raising his brows mischievously.

"Stop it," Elena groaned.

"Stop what?" Damon asked innocently.

"You know what."

"No."

Their gazes met and they burst out laughing.

"Ahh, precious memories." Damon sighed.

"What's precious about you cooking dinner in our kitchen?" Elena asked, brows furrowed.

"Are you hungry?" Damon evaded deliberately. "I could impress you with my marvelous cooking again."

"Sure. Actually, I'm starving," Elena said. "So, what's for dinner tonight?"

"Mmh, I don't know. How about… Bonnie and Caroline?!"

"What?!" Elena stared at him disgust. "That's not funny, Damon."

"No. Look," Damon said. "There."

They'd reached the Gilbert residence. Bonnie and Caroline were standing in front of it.

"Oh my god, is that blood?!" Elena shrieked and stormed out of the car. "Oh my god, what happened?"

"Thank god, you're back!" Bonnie said and hugged her.

"What happened?" Damon inquired now more emphatically.

"We were out with some guys and then on our way home they attacked us," Bonnie told them.

"They? How many?"

"Two."

Damon and Elena exchanged a guilty look. They'd completely forgotten that Mystic Falls was still being terrorized by hungry vampires.

"Did somebody else see them?"

"No, only us."

"Um, what's with Caroline?" Elena whispered.

Caroline hadn't moved since Damon and Elena had arrived. She was staring into the nothing with a shocked expression on her face.

"She has shock, I think. Hasn't said a word since the attack."

"Cannot blame her. Damon, can't you do something?" Elena asked.

He nodded and walked over to Caroline to modify her memories.

"Come, I'll clean you up," Elena said to Bonnie and put her hand on her shoulder.

"No, I'm okay," Bonnie said. "We're okay. But you need to do something. It can't go on like this. Too many have died."

"I know. We'll take care of it. And you'll really be okay?"

"Yes, we'll be fine," Bonnie affirmed.

Caroline joined them now.

"You ready, Bonnie? Let's go."

"Yeah, let's go," Bonnie said. "Take care, Elena, please."

"Don't worry. Get home, safe."

"Bye, Elena."

"Bye, Caroline."

Bonnie and Caroline got into Bonnie's car and drove off and Elena turned to Damon.

"What did you tell Caroline?" she asked him.

"I told her to go straight to bed and when she'd wake up everything would be fine."

"Good. Do you still have the stakes in your car."

"Yes…"

"Good. Let's go," she urged him.

"Wait, what are you up to?" Damon demanded.

"Go and kill the vampires of course," Elena answered matter-of-factly.

"What? No!" Damon nearly shouted.

"We don't have a choice," Elena told him. "Too many have died already."

"Yes, but we can't. Not now. You're not ready. We didn't train–"

"It doesn't matter," Elena cut him off. "We have to do it. Now. And as long I'll be with you I'll be fine."

Damon bit his lower lip. He didn't like what was about to happen. This was far too dangerous for Elena. Actually he had planned to train her fighting and wanted her to drink verveine before they would go out to hunt. There was no time for any of it if they'd really go now.

"It's too dangerous," he began.

"I don't care!" Elena shouted. "Damon, they attacked my friends. I don't know when Jeremy will get home. He could be the next victim. He could die. I can't that happen. I won't!"

Her eyes bore into his, holding his gaze steadily. Her gaze was hard and determined. She knew what she wanted. She had a strong will. Usually Damon admired that about her but now she was just insane. She was demanding something from him he couldn't accept. If Elena died Stefan would kill him. He couldn't risk it.

"Elena–"

"If you don't like it, I'll do it alone," she announced now and turned around and walked toward his car.

"No!" Damon said and caught up with her. "You won't do it on your own."

They got into the car and Damon started the engine.

"Damon? Thank you."

"I'm not doing it for you," Damon told her. "I'm going with you because Stefan will kill me if anything happens to you."

"You're here. That's all that matters."

* * *

Although they hadn't trained Damon and Elena were making good progress. That was mainly due to the fact that Damon didn't hide and only interfered in emergencies this time. He was fighting alongside Elena from the very beginning. 10 vampires were already staked. Each of them had killed five. Contrary to his former believe Elena was doing just fine, even without proper training. Last time she had probably been just overwhelmed by the sudden attack of the vampire, he figured but now he was starting to believe in her and her skills. Elena, too, was quite psyched by her achievements but she couldn't ignore the fact that she was beginning to get tired. When had been the last time she had slept a little? She couldn't remember. But the adrenaline was rushing through her veins, keeping her going so that even if she reached her limits she wouldn't feel it coming. That made her an easy prey for the vampires of course. Thank god Damon was with her. By the way, where was he? She couldn't see him.

"Damon?" she called out to him. "Damon, where are you?"

He didn't answer and Elena was beginning to freak out. She'd just seen him fighting another vampire and now both of them were gone. And her vampire opponent was gone, too…

Her heart was pumping fast while she spun around looking for someone, anyone, any being, no matter if living or non-living. But there was nothing. Not even a gently breeze of the wind. Absolutely nothing…

"Damon? Damon! Aaaaargh!"

Suddenly something crept up behind her and pushed her flat on the ground. A dark growl sounded behind her and hot breath grazed her neck. Then the vampire turned her roughly around and Elena was facing eyes full of bloodlust and long, sharp teeth that protruded from his mouth.

"Aaaargh!"

She was struggling hard to shake him off but she couldn't. He was too strong and pinning her almost effortlessly to the ground. He stake had fallen out of her hand when she'd fallen and was out of reach. Where the hell was Damon?"

"Damon! Damoooooon!"

The vampire now leapt at her throat. It hurt beyond imagination when his fangs pierced her skin and memories of Vicky Donovan's attack flashed through her mind. The sound of him sucking her blood made her sick. She was still trying to get him off her but her efforts were subsiding as she was growing weaker. She realized: she was going to die. The vampire wasn't just going to still his hunger. He was going to drain her until there would be no drop of blood left. Her vision started to swim and darkness started to capture her.

"ELENA!"

She thought she heard Damon's voice from the distance. Then there was a rough jolt and the weight on her body was gone. At least she thought so. Her senses were growing weaker by the second. She wasn't sure anymore.

"Elena. Elena, stay awake."

Damon. His voice was so close… She struggled to open her eyes. There he was. Damon was back.

"Elena. Elena, look at me. Look at me! Focus, don't give in!"

He cradled her gently in his arms to support her. Keep her steady. That was important now.

"Damon…"

"Shh, don't speak, Elena. Save your strength. Everything will be alright."

He looked at the wound in her neck and gasped. It was deep. That damn vampire had cut the artery. It was bleeding violently. Damon gulped. He could feel his insides contracting and his throat starting to burn. He blood awakened his instincts. It made him hungry. He was fighting against it. Goddammit, she was dying right here in his arms! He'd sworn he wouldn't let her get hurt. She couldn't die. He wouldn't let her die!

Without realizing what he was doing there he raised his fist to his mouth and bit it hard. The blood was running down his hand and he held it in front of Elena's mouth. Elena was barely conscious now. She was fading fast. Her time was running out.

"Elena. Elena, open your eyes! Look at me!"

She opened her eyes and struggled to keep them open. When she saw his bleeding hand her eyes widened in horror and she whimpered.

"Elena, drink. It'll heal your wound."

"No."

"Elena! Be reasonable! If you don't drink you'll die!"

"No."

"Please, Elena! Look, listen, I promise I'll take care of you. I promise, you won't die and turn into a vampire. I won't let that happen. I won't let you die! Trust me, Elena. Please!"

His pleading eyes bore into her own and although her vision was blurry she could clearly see his fear in them. And she believed him. She would trust him. She was no longer protesting and silently agreed. So Damon pressed his bleeding hand to her mouth and Elena started to swallow his blood down.

Damon sighed in relief. "That's my girl."

He kissed the top of her head and gently stroked her hair while she was drinking. It took some more gulps before the wound on her neck closed and Elena regained some strength.

"How are you?" he asked her softly still cradling her in his arms.

"I don't know," she said weakly. "I'm feeling strange."

"You just swallowed down two ampoules of my blood. I'm surprised you haven't puked it out by now."

Elena smiled slightly. But Damon couldn't smile about his own joke. Now that the danger was over his guilty conscience started to bug him. Elena could've died. He should've never let it come that far.

"I'm sorry," he began. "They were working together. The one I was fighting lured me away. He was older and stronger than me. When you called for me he didn't let me get to you. If only I'd killed him sooner then you wouldn't…"

Her cries were still echoing in his ears. He was sure he'd never forget them. They'd been so penetrating… so much pain to listen to…

"It's okay. You've been there after all," Elena tried to comfort him. "You better keep you promise," she added menacingly.

For a moment Damon had forgotten what he'd promised her but now that she mentioned it he remembered it.

"I'd better not take the risk and break it," he replied with his smug back on place.

"So much better," she emphasized, giving him a smile which he returned. "So, um," she said now. "Are we gonna stay here like this forever? It's freezing."

"No, of course not. Can you stand?"

"Negative. I'm still feeling weak."

Damon lifted her in his arms and got up, heading for the Salvatore manor.

"Tonight you're the knight in shining armor," Elena giggled. "Wait, no, you're not. You don't sparkle."

Damon snorted. "Thank god, I don't. How would I be able to be the bad guy with the diabolical plans on his mind if I sparkled? No, and besides, I'd rather not steal this title from my brother."

"But Stefan's not here, right? So you're the guy for tonight," Elena said drowsily and snuggled against his chest much to Damon's pleasure.

* * *

They reached the manor a quarter of an hour later. Damon gently sat Elena on the couch.

"I'll just get you something to change. I guess you don't want to sleep in those bloody ones."

"Yes. I'd like to take a shower, too, but I feel like I'd keel over if I tried to stand up."

"You'll be fine," Damon promised and left her side for a moment.

Soon he was back with a pair of pyjamas and an oversized t-shirt as well as a little bowl full of water and a washcloth.

"You can wash up and change and I'll go get you something to drink. I guess you must be thirsty."

"Yes, I am. Thanks, Damon." He flashed a smile at her and walked out of the parlor. "And don't you dare to peep!" she called after him.

She only heard him chuckle but she trusted him. So she got out of her bloody clothes and washed the blood on her body away before getting dressed in the clothes that were obviously Damon's. She smiled as she noticed how big they were for her and couldn't help but smell on them, taking in Damon's unique scent.

"Gotcha!" Damon caught her off guard.

Elena raised her head to see him leaning against the doorframe, smirking. "I was checking if I was still reeking of blood."

"Right," Damon said and walked over to her. "Like you could make out the smell. And for your information you're not reeking of blood anymore but you clothes are. I'll better put them into the washing machine," he added. He handed her the glass of water, grabbed her clothes, left with inhuman speed and came back a second later. Elena started drinking water and emptied the glass in almost a single gulp.

"Is that one of the side effects if a human drinks vampire blood?" she asked when Damon took the glass, put it on the floor and took a seat right of her on the couch.

"No, it's just because you're weak. That vampire nearly drained you."

"Wasn't it hard for you?" Elena inquired now. "Staying with me although I was bleeding?"

"You have no idea how hard," Damon whispered. He remembered how he felt his fangs already protruding and how he'd told the monster inside him that she was already dying. That thought repeating in his head had stopped him from finishing her off.

Elena watched him intently as he got lost in thoughts. She took his hand and squeezed it slightly to get his intention.

I'm really, really, proud of you," she said emphatically, smiling. "For how you've handled the situation although it was so difficult for you. You have a strong self-control."

Damon was about to contradict her, tell her what the monster inside him had urged him to do but when he saw her big, grateful eyes he couldn't. She'd say she was proud of him and that made him feel incredibly happy.

"You did okay, too," he said. "I mean fighting vampires and holding on until I got to you."

"Thanks," she said yawning.

"You better have some rest now."

"I guess so."

Damon wanted to get up and carry her to his bed but the grabbed his arm.

"No, stay," she said simply, holding his gaze again.

He nodded and lay down on the couch. Elena lay down beside down beside him on her side and smiling at him, she snuggled up to him and put on hand on his chest.

"I'm cold," she said, faking a whimper.

Damon grinned and put his arms around her, holding her close to him.

"That's better," she told him, smiling and closed her eyes.

Damon smiled, too. He couldn't quite grasp what was happening to him. A seemingly long while ago Elena had been dying and now, she was here, right in his arms, actually seeking his closeness and he enjoyed it very much.

"Sweet dreams, Elena," he whispered into her ear.

"'u too," she said, already falling asleep.

Damon knew better. He couldn't sleep, not now, so he was watching her sleep, memorizing each of the features of her beautiful appearance. The situation had something of a fairytale. So maybe he was the knight tonight with the beautiful girl in his arms.

* * *

Not long after Elena had fallen asleep she woke up again. She smiled when she looked into Damon's relaxed apparently asleep face, then she turned out of his embrace and sat up.

"Where you goin'?" Damon mumbled suddenly wide awake.

"Just taking care of some human needs," she told him.

"Okay, but hurry. I'm actually getting cold now."

Elena chuckled. She got up and walked a few steps.

"Whoa, head rush," she said and suddenly she collapsed on the floor.

"ELENA!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that's quite a cliffhanger, isn't it? I couldn't help but stop here. It's so mean. :p
> 
> Oh, by the way, I hope you didn't forget that Elena has quite a big amount of vampire blood in her system... Now she fainted... and oh, her heart better doesn't give out... ;)


	16. All I Need

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry! I had a seven-days-work-rotation and no idea where the time went. So here you go. Two chapters on a Monday! Elena and Damon get a little closer again. Enjoy!

_Find Me Here, speak to me.  
I want to feel you, _ _I need to hear you  
You are the light that's leading me.  
To the place where I find peace again._

_You are the strength, that keeps me walking.  
You are the hope, that keeps me trusting.  
You are the light to my soul.  
You are my purpose...you're everything_

_You calm the storms, and you give me rest.  
You hold me in your hands, you won't let me fall.  
You steal my heart, and you take my breath away.  
_ _Would you take me in? Take me deeper now?_

_How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?  
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?  
And how can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?  
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?_

_You're all I want your all I need  
You're everything_.

* * *

Damon was alert. An hour had passed since Elena had collapsed on his carpet. He had immediately been by her side. Her pulse was very slow, meaning her blood pressure was very low. So he'd picked her up in his arms and brought her to the hospital using vampire speed. She was brought into the ER and Damon had been alone.

His mind had been racing. There was a not insignificant risk that Elena could die… with quite much of his blood in her system.

 _Wait_ , he had thought, _she's got my blood in her system. The doctors will probably draw some blood to identify her blood type. They'll send it to the lab. Damn!_

He had turned around on his heels and gone straight to lab. He had compelled everyone who started asking questions and demanded to tell them who was doing the blood work. He had found that man in the back of the lab just analyzing blood with the indication 'Elena Gilbert' on it. Damon hadn't hesitated.

"You will find nothing but Elena's blood in her system. Disregard the inhuman part and forget it's ever been in her system. Just analyze the human blood. By the way, it's 0 negative."

He'd never drunk from Elena but he could tell her blood type from the way it smelled. And he'd smelled enough of it tonight. Elena's blood was something special. It appealed to every vampire. It was the sweetest blood he'd ever smelled. Something like that was rare, just like her blood type was.

When the risk of exposure was over Damon had left the lab and walked into the entrance hall of the hospital to take some calls.

First he had called Elena's family of course. Jenna and Jeremy and then he had called Caroline because it was the only number of Elena's friends he'd got and told her to grab Bonnie and Matt and come to the hospital, too.

He'd told both, Jenna and Caroline briefly what had happened. That Elena had collapsed and that the reason was yet unbeknownst to him. After that he'd gone to the waiting area in front of the emergency unit, waiting for them to come, what they did now, exactly one hour after Elena had fainted.

They were all deeply worried about Elena, especially Jenna who was Elena's legal guardian.

"I need to ask you something, Damon," she said earnest. "And please be honest."

"I will," Damon replied absolutely sincerely.

"Okay. Bonnie and Caroline told me you've been at a rock concert with Elena. I know these scenes well because I've once been part of them, too." Damon already knew what she driving at. "Did you take drugs?"

"No, we didn't."

"Did you maybe drink too much?"

"No, we didn't."

"And you're really telling me the truth?"

"Yes, I am, Jenna. I would never lie to you if it was about Elena. We didn't do anything that could have caused this," he answered. Okay, that was a lie but the rest was true.

"Good." Jenna sighed deeply. "I had to ask you that, you know that."

"Yes. Look, the doctors said it could take some time before we can talk to them. So why don't you go and do the paperwork to get it off your mind," Damon suggested, not compelled.

"Yes, I will. Jeremy, you stay here with everyone else. I'll be right back," she told Elena's brother.

"Okay."

Jenna left and as soon as she was gone Bonnie, Caroline, Matt and Jeremy interrogated Damon.

"What happened?"

"What did you do?"

"We did as _you_ told us to do," Damon said angrily to Bonnie, emphasizing the you. He glanced at Matt. He didn't know about vampires and it was better to keep it that way. "We dealt with the problem and Elena took a serious blow."

"What are you talking about, man?" Matt asked. Everyone ignored him.

"Can't you do something?" Jeremy asked.

"Yeah," Bonnie chimed in. "Aren't you able to help her? Like Stefan helped me back then?"

"I already did," Damon told them. "I saved her once already. That's the reason she is still alive anyway. But I don't understand why she suddenly collapsed. She was fine before that."

"Maybe you didn't give her enough?" Bonnie suggested accusingly.

" _Enough?_ " Damon repeated incredulously. "Come with me."

He ordered everyone except Matt to follow him into a corner of the hall.

"Sorry, Matt," Bonnie apologized to him. "But it's a secret we cannot share, you know."

"Yeah, whatever," he grumbled.

Damon took a deep breath. "I gave her enough. If I'd given her any more she would've turned into a vampire on the spot. There's a risk with giving humans vampire blood. It can heal their injuries, true, but too much of it can change their own blood."

"And what now?!" Caroline asked. "That's it?! We can't do anything but sit hear and wait for her to survive or die?!"

Damon looked guiltily at the floor. "There's something else I need to tell you," he said hesitantly. "There's another risk of feeding humans vampire blood."

Jeremy recalled the conversation he'd recently had with Damon and Elena.

"You mean? Oh!"

"What? What does he mean?" Bonnie demanded.

"If she dies now with my blood in her system she won't stop existing. She'll still be around… as a vampire."

Bonnie and Caroline's eyes widened in horror.

"Can't you do something to prevent that from happening?"

"Nope. If her heart stops beating for only a second she'll complete the transformation."

"Oh my god…" Bonnie was shocked. "How can you be so calm about it?!"

"Calm?!" Damon repeated, growing angry again. "I'm not calm! I can't stop thinking about it! I never wanted Elena to become a vampire. I wanted to save her. I promised her I'd take her of her while she had my blood in her system… that she wouldn't die. But this is out of my hands. She collapsed and nobody knows why, including me. If you really must know I'm scared to death."

Bonnie's face changed. The anger vanished and something like sympathy replaced it. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"That's why I summoned all of you here," Damon told them calmer now. "If she really died her family and friends who didn't know her secret should be able to say goodbye to her. But you, you know it but I guessed you'd wanted to be here anyway."

"You were right about that. I want to be here," Caroline said.

"Did you call Stefan?" Bonnie asked.

"Can't reach him," Damon answered, lying. "But it doesn't matter. It's not like he's never gonna see her again, right?"

Damon looked at the floor again. He had terrible pangs of guilt. _If only_ , he kept telling himself, _if only I'd killed that vampire earlier._

Absent-mindedly he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see it was Jeremy's.

"I don't blame you for what you did. By giving her your blood you saved her. Now we won't lose her no matter what happens."

Damon was silent. He couldn't agree with him.

* * *

They sat silently beside each other, waiting for what felt like ages until finally someone with a medical degree approached them. Jenna and Damon jumped to their feet.

"How is she?" Jenna asked nervously.

"She's alive. We stabilized her," the doctor told them.

Everyone let out of breath they seemed to have held for hours. But Damon wasn't completely relieved yet.

"Did her heart give out?"

"No, I just told you'd saved her."

"Not even for a second? I'm sorry but it's important."

"No," the doctor answered. "Never. She's a strong person with a strong system."

Now Damon slumped back onto his seat. All the pressure fell off him.

"Thanks, doc."

"May we–?" Jenna began.

"Yes, but not more than three at a time," the doctor told them.

Jenna nodded. The doctor left and Damon got up again.

"Family before everyone else," Matt said irritated.

"No, it's okay," Jeremy said. "Damon saved her so he should be the first to see her."

Jenna looked at him suspiciously because of the word 'saved' but agreed.

"I'll make it quick," Damon promised and opened the door to Elena's room.

He entered and closed the door almost soundlessly. Then he turned around and looked at the scene in front of him. Elena was lying in a bed with white blankets. A tube led from a little machine to her nose, supplying her with oxygen and another beeping machine was monitoring her heart rate but aside from that Elena was fine.

He slowly walked up to her bed and took a seat beside her. Although she was in such a bad condition right now he couldn't help but admire how beautiful she looked when she was sleeping. He had gotten to see her like this several times already but each time was precious. She looked completely at peace whereas she usually was so worried.

Carefully not really daring to touch her he took her hand and squeezed it. As if it'd been her cue Elena opened her eyes now.

"Damon?" she whispered questioningly. She was obviously confused. "What happened? Why am I in a hospital?"

"I don't know how much you remember," Damon began. "You were attacked by a vampire and I saved you by feeding you some of my blood but then you collapsed."

Damon's voice had gotten very quiet at the end. Watching Elena collapse had scared him. Elena nodded. That was everything she remembered, too. She looked at him, scrutinized him as if she was searching for something in his face.

"You look depressed."

She wasn't sure if 'depressed' was the right word to describe Damon no matter in which situation.

"It doesn't matter." Damon waved it off, faking a smile. "Look, everyone's waiting for you outside so I'll go now but I'll come back tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay."

He gave her a smile which she returned and gave her hand a last squeeze before he got up and left but not without taking a last look at her.

* * *

As promised he came back the day after early in the morning. He just couldn't wait any longer. Though he knew she was alright he felt the urge to check up on her. At ten in the morning he went to the intensive care unit to find out that Elena had been transferred to a normal unit. He was relieved to hear it and went straight to the new room. When he opened the door he found Elena awake and when he entered she smiled.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey." He walked over to her, taking a seat in the chair next to her bed. "How are you?"

"I'm fine! Thanks for asking!" she answered excitedly.

"Did you get at least some sleep last night?" he asked amused.

"Rather too much, I guess. Or they gave me something while I was asleep. Or it's you blood in my system that makes me feel so alive and cheerful," she concluded.

"I go for drugs."

Elena laughed but then she stopped when she saw the depressed expression from the day before back on his face.

"Don't look so sad."

"It was a bad idea to feed you my blood," Damon said with audible remorse in his voice.

"No, it wasn't. You saved me."

"I didn't save you, Elena," he contradicted, looking sternly at her. "We both know what would have happened if you'd died last night. It was foolish to accept the risk. Being a vampire is much worse than death, believe me."

"That coming out of your mouth," Elena replied surprised.

"I only just realized it."

He couldn't stand to look into her eyes anymore and stared at the blanket instead.

"I understand. You were scared," he heard Elena's soft voice. "I'm sorry."

He couldn't take it anymore. His eyes were burning. He blinked furiously. Then he raised his head and looked straight into her eyes.

"Yes," he admitted. "I was scared. I've never been so scared before. But don't apologize. You're making it worse."

He blinked again. Damn, he thought, that can't be happening now.

Blinking didn't help to hide his feelings from Elena. She held his gaze, staring deep into his eyes and saw what was filling up in them.

"Oh, no, Damon, don't," she said and pulled him into a tight hug. Damon didn't stop her. He let himself sink into her embrace and rested his head on her shoulder. She rubbed his back soothingly and he closed his eyes. A tear ran down his face and he was glad Elena couldn't see it.

"What are you doing to me, Elena?" he asked tortured.

"Comforting."

"That's not what I mean. I mean, I don't do this."

"What? Cry?"

She let go of him and cupped his face with her hands instead, still staring into his sad eyes.

"It's okay. You went through a lot last night. You let it get to you. All the emotions you held back let them go now. Let it all go," she whispered.

Damon leant against her again and Elena put his arms around him again. But he wasn't crying anymore. The turmoil of emotions inside him was already subsiding thanks to Elena. She didn't know it but she was healing him. Her warm embrace alone was helping him so much. And he also felt a pang of guilt. Elena was giving him so much but he could never give her so much back.

He removed himself from her and leant back in his chair with his eyes never leaving hers. Elena leant back into the pillows, took his hand and squeezed it tightly. Damon wrapped his hand around hers and squeezed back. That was exactly the reason why he hadn't called Stefan. He wanted to be the one beside her and hold her hand.

"Thank you, Damon," Elena said.

"For what?" he asked confused.

"For not wanting me to become a vampire," she answered smiling. "It means a lot to me."

"I didn't always not want you to become a vampire, you know," he told her. "There was a time when I wanted to turn you because I thought you could replace Katherine somehow but then I realized that you could never be her and appreciated it."

That time seemed to be so long ago that he could hardly remember it. It seemed like he'd always been with Elena, enjoying her company.

Elena was still smiling and as ridiculous as it was Damon had to laugh. Once again all the pressure fell off him and he felt incredibly relaxed. He grinned at Elena and she grinned back, happy that he was back to his usual self.

* * *

That evening Elena was released from the hospital at her own risk. She didn't go home, but went with Damon to the manor for the sleepover she still owed him.

They sat all evening on the couch by the fireplace, not talking, not moving, just staring into the fire. Although it wasn't even midnight yet Elena felt sleepy. She stretched herself and leant back against Damon who smiled and leant himself against her.

"And if I fall asleep…" she started.

"I won't move," he finished the sentence for her.

"Right," she said and rested her head on his shoulder.

Damon rested his head on hers and closed his eyes.

Soon both of them fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somehow I think Damon is very OOC in this chapter. I hope he's not too strange... but there's only so much even a Damon can take so I think it's okay to let him cry a single tear.^^ The next chapter will include a little surprise. So it is a good thing that by the time you read this it will already be online! :)


	17. I Know You By Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I have a little problem. The thing is this chapter is actually 20 handwritten pages in DIN A 4 long. So I cut it into three parts which I'll upload one after the other. I guess it's better that way than having to read and read and read without ever reaching the end of the chapter. So here is the first part. I promised you a surprise and you're lucky it's already in the first part, together with some Delena... fluffyness... Is that the right word for it? I guess it is. So, enjoy!

_Midnights in Winter  
The glowing fire  
Lights up your face in orange and gold.  
I see your sweet smile  
Shine through the darkness  
It's line is etched in my memory._

_So I'd know you by heart._

_Mornings in April  
Sharing our secrets  
We'd walk until the morning was gone.  
We were like children  
Laughing for hours  
The joy you gave me lives on and on._

_'Cause I know you by heart._

* * *

When Elena woke up the next morning she was no longer sitting on the couch in the parlor but lying in a bed – in Damon's bed. Her body was snuggled up to his and her head was resting on his bar chest.

_What the…_

In a jolt she changed into a sitting position. She clutched her heart which was beating fast and took deep breaths, trying not to freak out. What had happened last night? Why was she lying in Damon's bed with Damon right beside her? And why wasn't he wearing his shirt?

"Elena, calm down," Damon's sleepy voice sounded beside her. "The sound of your beating heart is like a jackhammer in my ears." Groaning he sat up and eyed Elena worried. "Did you have a nightmare?"

"I'm _in_ a nightmare," Elena corrected and jumped out of the bed. She looked down at herself to find that she was fully dressed and her necklace was where it belonged as well.

"What do you mean?" Damon asked confused. "What's wrong with you?"

"What did you do last night?" Elena interrogated him.

"Huh?"

"Did you something to me? Did you compel me to do… whatever. Did you?"

"I don't understand. What are you talking about?" Damon asked sincerely.

"Okay, then why do I wake up, in your bed, with you topless?" she inquired directly.

Damon stared at her for a moment then he burst out laughing.

"It's not funny."

"Actually, it is," Damon said. "Did you think that we…"

"No! I mean yes. I mean… Stop confusing me!" Damon was still laughing. "And stop laughing! I feel completely humiliated," she added offended.

Damon cleared his throat and put on a serious expression.

"You can calm down. We didn't do anything. I didn't do anything. I brought us here because it's much more comfortable and I didn't want to wake up with a stiff neck," he explained. "And this," he added, pointing at his bare chest. "is how I always sleep. But if it bothers you so much I'll put on a shirt."

"It doesn't bother me." Those words escaped her mouth before she could stop them. She instantly regretted to have said them when she became aware of the ambiguity.

Damon put on a cocky grin. "I knew you'd like my dashing body."

"Shut up, will you?" Elena said pointedly. "And get dressed, please," she added and sat down on the bed with her back turned on him.

"Come on, admit it, honey," Damon whispered into her ear. His breath was grazing her neck. A shudder ran down her spine. He was unbearable close. "I'm irresistible."

Now Elena was laughing. "You wish."

"Deny it all you want, Elena. I know better. You're attracted to me. You've always been."

Elena turned around to face him and spit something back but when her face was only inches away from him she forgot all she wanted to say and swallowed hard. She quickly turned around and got up.

"I need to check if the verveine withered," she said more to herself than to Damon.

"Now it's getting ridiculous, Elena," Damon said shaking his head. "I swear, I didn't invade your personal space. It would do you good to trust me once in a while."

"I do trust you," Elena affirmed. "I was just confused… Let's just forget it, okay?"

"Gladly."

Damon put on a shirt while Elena admired the beautiful view from his room. She was so lost in the scenery that she didn't notice Damon creeping up on her. She just felt his arms encircle her and startled. He was hugging her from behind.

"It's a beautiful view, isn't it?"

Elena swallowed hard again and tried not to show him how nervous she was with him being so close.

"Yes…"

Damon rested his head on her shoulder. "Elena?"

"Yes…?"

"You might wanna go see a doctor," he said. "You might be suffering from arrhythmia."

Elena gave it up. She just ignored his remark and continued to stare outside. Soon she had calmed down. _We're just hugging_ , she told herself. _We've done that several times._ And she didn't feel uncomfortable in his embrace. She actually felt herself lean against him.

* * *

She didn't know for how long they'd been standing there, hugging and looking outside. After a while Damon offered to make her breakfast and she gladly accepted it.

"Do you have anything edible for humans here?" Elena asked and sat down at the counter.

"Let's see," Damon said and opened the refrigerator. "We have A positive… B negative… and AB negative. Which one do you prefer?"

"I guess I'll have breakfast at home."

"Just kidding," Damon said. "Give me some minutes."

Elena watched him fascinated making her breakfast. He cooked bacon and eggs and served her orange juice.

"Who taught you how to cook?" she asked curiously.

"I taught myself," he answered. "Even if I'm a vampire that mostly feeds on blood it doesn't mean I can't enjoy the taste of good human food."

He walked over to her, put two plates with bacon and eggs onto the counter and took a seat opposite to Elena.

"Buon appetito," he said.

Elena grabbed her fork and started eating. She wasn't surprised to find that it tasted as good as the last time he had cooked for her.

"This is really good," she told him.

"Thanks. Glad you like it," Damon said and emptied his glass of orange juice.

"I think I'll go home now," Elena announced after they had finished breakfast.

"Do you want me to take you home?" Damon asked.

"No, I can get home by myself. And the last time I checked you, Pearl and Anna are the only vampires around that have such a ring."

"True," Damon said. "And the remaining vampires probably scooted after you kicked their friend's ass."

"Yeah!"

They got up. Elena picked her back up and Damon walked her to the door.

"So… I'll be seeing you," Elena said shyly.

Damon nodded. "I'm always everywhere you go."

Elena felt her cheeks blush. "There's no need to. I can take care of myself and if not I'll call you."

"As you wish." He shrugged.

"So… bye, Damon," Elena said.

"Bye, Elena."

Elena wanted to turn around and leave but she didn't do so. She was staring into Damon's eyes, unable to move. Damon tilted his head to the side, looking at her amused. He just wanted to open his mouth to ask her what was keeping her there when she snapped out of her trance. She pecked him and quickly walked to her car. Before she got in she raised her head to look back at him. He was smiling. She returned the smile, got into her car and drove away.

* * *

Damon closed the front door. He had an embarrassing dreamy expression on his face and shook his head to snap out of it. If he didn't know better he would say Elena was using compulsion on him. She was doing something to him that he couldn't describe. She awakened long forgotten feelings inside him. She was making him feel human again.

He walked into the kitchen and put the dished into the dishwasher. Then he opened the refrigerator and took out a blood bag. That reminded him that he wasn't human no matter how much he wished to be one again. Now he understood what his brother had been going through all the time but Stefan was closer to humanity because he didn't feed on human blood.

Lost in thoughts he put the now empty bag into the trash, walked into the parlor and slumped on the couch. He'd once tried to do the Stefan diet but found it a) weakening him and b) unnecessary but now… Did he need to be strong at all? He wasn't constantly fighting anymore. Like he had said the remaining vampires they hadn't killed probably fled. And as far as he could tell he didn't have any enemies aside from Alaric Saltzman which he hadn't seen for a while. Maybe he could try it again. Stefan would be proud of him and Elena, too.

Speaking of Stefan… why was he suddenly feeling his presence near by? He didn't… or did he?

A moment later Damon's questioned was answered when the front door opened and Stefan entered. He entered the parlor and was surprised to find Damon in there.

"You're back?"

"As you can see," Damon said. "What brought _you_ back?"

"Do I need a reason to come home?" Stefan asked him, dropped his baggage next to Damon on the couch and froze.

"Was Elena here?"

"Yeah," Damon answered. "She stayed over night."

" _What?!_ "

Suddenly Stefan grabbed Damon by the throat, whirled him around and pinned him against the wall. For a second bewilderment flickered in Damon's eyes as he stared into Stefan's – he found something in there that shouldn't be there – but then they were holding boredom as usual.

"Relax," he told his brother. "I didn't touch her. In case you haven't noticed we have a vampire problem – no pun intended – and I didn't think it was a good idea to let her drive home all by herself as she refused to let me drive her. So she slept over. Could you let me go now, please?"

Stefan let him go but still wasn't convinced that nothing had happened between his brother and Elena.

"Why was she here in the first place?" he inquired suspiciously.

Damon had two options. Either he would tell him of his hunting sessions with Elena or he'd make up a story. He chose option II and decided to pull some strings.

"I threw a belated birthday party for her, okay? At least one of us should acknowledge that she turned eighteen a few days ago."

"I sent her a message," Stefan defended himself.

"Whooo, a message. I guess she was really happy about a message instead of a visit," Damon with sarcasm.

"I couldn't come. I was–"

"Busy, yeah. She told me. And what were you so busy with?"

"I knew the vampires escaped from the tomb. I don't know their agenda. They might want to take over the town. So I traveled around and found allies. One of them is Lexi's boyfriend. Do you know him?"

"Lexi's boyfriend?" Damon repeated. "No, never met him."

"Well, he's staying around and will help us if the other vampires attempt something," Stefan explained.

 _Bravo_ , Damon thought. _You're about two months too late._

"So what brought you back? How did your search for Katherine go? Did you find her?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"That bad, huh?"

"Just drop it, will you?" Damon said irritated. "Go and do something useful. Like paying a visit to your girlfriend. I'm sure she'll jump into your arms considering how much she missed you."

Damon could hardly control himself. All the anger he was holding inside was clearly audible in his voice.

"I was just going to do that," Stefan said. He took a look around the parlor and sighed. "Elena partying with you… A lot must have changed while I was gone."

 _Yeah, wait for the biggie_ , Damon thought and couldn't hide his grin. However he didn't dare to tell it to Stefan because his brother seemed to be on edge right now.

"See you later," Stefan said and left. Once he heard Stefan driving away Damon grabbed the lamp on the table next to the couch and smashed it against the wall.

 _Why_ , he thought bitterly. _Why does he have to come back now?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry^^° Well, he had to come back eventually. Poor Damon. Now that he's gotten so close to Elena... The regular upload schedule will resume this weekend with one chapter on Saturday and the second chapter on Sunday! Have a great week! :)


	18. I'm Not Over You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another Saturday, another chapter. The story goes on. Enjoy^^

_I'm not over you just yet  
Cannot hide it  
You're not that easy to forget  
I'm not over_

* * *

Elena was sitting on her bed, writing in her diary. So much had happened over the past days that she had to write down.

_Dear Diary,_

_I'm home again!_

_The last three days were nerve-wracking._

_Starting with my birthday and Damon's unbelievable presents: roses, a copy of Breaking Benjamin's latest album and the best, a road trip to Atlanta, including a concert of above-mentioned band. It was so much… I was somewhere between happy and in heaven… I always feel very elated around him but on that trip it was stronger than ever before. I was so happed that I would have liked to hug Damon tightly and never let him go. I would have never thought that he could awake such strong feelings inside me. He makes me feel alive. He makes me feel like before my parents' death._

_When we got home all hell broke lose. We learnt from Bonnie and Caroline that they were attacked by vampires. I didn't hesitate and wanted to hunt and kill the blood suckers. Damon wouldn't let me at first because I wasn't prepared but I could persuade him in the end. Was he actually scared that something would happen to me?_

_Killing the vampires was awesome! I staked five of them on my own and felt pretty invincible._

_I was obviously feeling too safe. Suddenly Damon was gone and a vampire attacked me. I lost my stake and couldn't shake him off. He bit me and sucked my blood. It was awful! It hurt beyond imagination and I was so scared of dying. But then Damon appeared and killed the bastard. He looked so desperate when he saw my wound like he was scared of losing me. His voice sounded desperate, too when he ordered me to drink his blood. I refused at first because that if I died for some reason with his blood in my system I would irrevocably turn into a vampire and I didn't want that by all means. But Damon didn't give up trying. He made the biggest promise to me. That he would take care of me and wouldn't let me die. I looked into his eyes and saw the fear and determination in them and drank his blood. Once I was stable we went to Damon's and he cared for me. He was so sweet! He got me new clothes, helped me to get rid of the blood on my skin – in short he was the perfect gentleman. He told me to get some rest and wanted to leave but I didn't want him to leave. I practically begged him to stay and he did. We lay down on the couch in the parlor and I snuggled up to him. He put his arms around me and I felt perfectly safe. It didn't bother me at all that it was Damon's arms I was lying in. I didn't want to be with anyone else than him in that moment, not even Stefan._

_I think I'm finally over Stefan. He congratulated me via text message and I didn't care. I guess I'm forgetting him and moving on._

_Anyway, Damon and I slept on the couch for a while. Then I felt like I had to pee and got up. Suddenly I felt dizzy and darkness surrounded me. Later Damon told me I collapsed. I woke up in the hospital with Damon by my side. I was glad to see him but he had a really depressing look on his face. He was so full of remorse for feeding me his blood. He told me how scared he had been that I could die and become a vampire because he never wanted me to become one. I was happy to hear him say it because I knew he once wanted to turn me to replace Katherine. Damon was so upset that his emotions took control of him. I saw tears fill his eyes and hugged him tightly. Seeing Damon so depressed was making me depressed, too. I didn't want him to be sad. I wanted him to smirk and joke around like always which he fortunately did after a while._

_Last night I was released from the hospital but I didn't want to go home. I'd promised Damon a sleepover the other day and I wanted to keep it. It was really nothing more than a sleepover because I quickly fell asleep._

_Then this morning I woke up with a shock. I was lying with Damon in his bed! And he was topless! I thought he'd taken advantage of me but he'd just brought us to his room so that we wouldn't have it so uncomfortable. Damon was disappointed that I didn't trust him but was also fooling around like always. Saying things like I was attracted to him. It was very embarrassing because my body reacted to his touch. Damon was obviously enjoying it. But I came to the conclusion that it wasn't that bad. We didn't do anything, just hugging, like friends. Okay, maybe a little tighter but it didn't feel wrong. Kill me, I actually liked it. I can't even believe it. I like to be close to Damon Salvatore._

_Maybe I should call Stefan and ask him to come back… or maybe not._

_When we were finished talking about this embarrassing moment Damon made breakfast. It tasted delicious like everytime he cooks. I would have liked to spend the whole day with Damon but I realized that I should go home and let Jenna and Jeremy check up on me. So I did. Damon kindly walked me to the door. Standing outside my feet wouldn't move. I really didn't want to go. I lost myself in Damon's eyes and when I snapped out of it I kissed Damon's cheek. I wanted to thank him for everything he'd done the last couple of days. When I reached the car I looked back at him to see that he was smiling. Even more than that, he had a cute, dreamy expression on his face. So he liked it and I'm happy he did._

_I feel a little weird. I know something's happening to me but I can't figure it out. All I know that it has to do with Damon and that it feels great._

* * *

Elena heard voices from downstairs and closed her diary. Then her phone rang. She picked it up from the bedside table to find a text message from Damon. She smiled and opened it. Was he already missing her?

**Stefan's back and on his way to you.**

Elena's face fell. She hit reply.

**Thanks. That came about ten seconds too late.**

She hit send just when the door opened and Stefan entered.

"Stefan!" She pretended to be surprised. "You're back!"

"I'm back," he confirmed and hugged her tightly. He let go of her after some seconds passed and studied her face. "You look shocked."

"Yeah, I am," she told him. "I didn't expect you to come back before ten years at the earliest. Damon told me you usually stay away longer."

"Yeah, usually I do but I changed my habits," he replied.

"Why did you come back?" she asked trying to hide her anger about it.

"Well, for one thing I felt guilty because I wasn't there on your birthday But I heard Damon filled in for me."

"Yes, he did."

"And for the other something weird happened the night before last. I felt like something bad had happened to you and I couldn't help but check up on you," he concluded apologetically.

Elena stared at him. He had felt it when she was about to die? She hadn't realized that their connection was already so strong and she felt guilty because she wanted to forget him just before he had entered her room. She reached out to hug Stefan tightly.

"I missed you." She realized it now. Damon had distracted her well enough to not think about it all the time but deep within her she had missed Stefan and longed for him.

"I missed you, too," Stefan whispered and hugged her back.

After a while they let go of each other but were still holding hands.

"So you're staying?" Elena asked.

"I'm staying."

"For how long?"

"For good."

"For good?" Elena repeated appalled. What was wrong with her? One moment she was happy Stefan was back and the other she thought of how little she would see of Damon with Stefan back.

"Yes, for good," Stefan affirmed. "Something wrong?"

"No. No, it just sounded too good to be true," Elena lied.

Stefan smiled. "I will never leave you again, I promise."

 _Never? As in never? Maybe it's the best_ , she told herself. _I've been with Stefan all the time despite his absence. We didn't break up. And Damon and I, we're just friends. We don't have to hang out all the time._

"And what did you do?" Elena asked, genuinely interested. "Where have you been the last couple of months?"

"Oh, I've traveled around the states. I was visiting friends and finding allies," he explained to her. "Because I think the vampires from the tomb are up to something."

"Oh really?" Elena was about to tell him that most of the vampires are dead when her cell phone rang. She glanced at it. Damon had texted her again.

"I'm sorry, it's Bonnie," she said apologetically. "Apparently she's bored. Caroline's with Matt and she keeps asking me to go shopping with her."

"It's okay," Stefan said smiling. "Go ahead. Text her back."

"Thanks." Elena grabbed her phone and read Damon's message.

**Don't tell him of our hunting sessions.**

Elena sighed frustrated, flashed a smile to Stefan and texted Damon back.

**You really need to work on the timing.**

She hit send and smiled at Stefan. He smiled back and hugged her again.

"I'm sorry but I really missed you."

He nuzzled his nose into her neck, causing Elena to giggle. She lay back on the bed, pulling Stefan with her and kissed him. He kissed her hungrily back. Elena felt herself heating up. How she had missed this! She pulled Stefan closer and kissed him passionately –

Again her phone rang and she quickly straightened up to grab it.

"Well now it's starting to be irritating," she grumbled.

"A little," Stefan agreed smiling.

Elena stared at him and dropped her phone. His face was different. Starting with his eyes that were darker as usual.

"Your face…"

"What about it? You know it always happens when we are passionate," Stefan said.

Elena knew that of course but for the first time it scared her to see him like this. She thought if was different from the way it changed usually and the difference was scaring her.

She forced herself to avert her gaze and read Damon's message instead.

**I think that was enough. The welcome back party is over. Tell your boyfriend to leave. I'm not joking. I mean it. I need to talk to you. Alone. Now.**

_He couldn't have been more precise_ , Elena thought and hit reply.

**You'd better have a good reason.**

She hit send and sighed.

"I think it's the best if I just hang out with her today," she said to Stefan. "She won't stop bugging us."

"No problem," said Stefan. "We have plenty of time now that I'm back."

"Yeah."

"Do you want me to drive you to her house?"

"Oh no, I'll take my car. I've got a new one," she told him beaming.

"I saw it. Looks great. Okay, so I'll be seeing you."

"Yes."

They kissed and Stefan left. Elena lay back on the bed, sighing. She heard Stefan's car drive away and a second later Damon was standing in front of her. She sat up.

"What's this all about?" she demanded.

Damon frowned. "You shouldn't be seeing him for a while."

"What? Why? He just came back."

"Something's different about him," he told her. "I have a hunch but no proof yet."

"I noticed it, too. He was acting a bit weird," Elena agreed. "And his face…"

"Yeah, I saw it."

" _What?! Did you peep on us?!_ " Elena flared up.

"I was worried about you, okay?" Damon replied irritated. "I wanted to be there in case anything happens."

"So what do you think I wrong with him?" Elena wanted to know.

Damon sighed deeply. "I don't know how to break it to you, Elena… but I think he fed on human blood."

" _What?!_ "

"His behavior – did you noticed how many times he hugged you? I bet he just wanted to get close to your pretty neck – and then the change of his face and I noticed he's gotten stronger," Damon concluded.

Elena was dismayed. "But why? He wouldn't…"

"I don't know but I'm pretty sure about it. That's why I think you shouldn't be close to him anytime soon until I talked to him about it."

"But–"

"No buts, Elena," Damon cut her off. "We can't let him get close to you! He's too dangerous. What if he can't control himself and bites you? Then everything will be worse because he will become obsessed with your blood and drain you completely. Do you want that?"

"No. I just… I don't him to get through this alone," Elena said. "I want to help him."

"I know but right now you can't do anything but wait," he said and put her hand comfortingly on her shoulder. "I'll talk to him and then I'll try to get him back on his road."

"Okay."

"Don't worry you're pretty head," Damon said. "Everything will be fine."

And then he left. He was heading straight for the woods. He was hungry mostly because he was unnerved at the thought of his brother drinking human blood. It wasn't right. Damon looked out for something bigger than a bunny to feed on. He had had a change of heart and hour ago. He would only feed on animals as long as he could. He wanted to be better than Stefan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now isn't that an interesting turn of events? XD Sorry, I find myself quoting Damon once in a while XD
> 
> I think it's pretty clear now that Elena is indecisive about who she wants to be with. Either her boyfriend who seems to be rather into her blood than anything else or Damon who is obviously worried about her.
> 
> Well, that matter will reach its peak in the next chapter. So, stay tuned XD


	19. Hopeless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I told you the question who Elena wants to be with would be solved soon. It is now in this chapter, however like always just temporally. Enjoy!

_Here I lie forever  
Sorrow still remains  
Will the water pull me down and wash it all away?  
Come and take me over  
Welcome to the game  
Will the current drag me down and carry me away?  
_ _Suddenly the light begins to fade_

_Safe to say it's over  
Sink into the grave  
There's nothing left inside  
I can hear the devil call my name_

_Hopeless, I'm falling down  
Filthy, I can't wake up  
I cannot hold on  
Worthless, it's over now  
Guilty, there's no way out  
I cannot hold on_

* * *

He stayed out all day and didn't return home before nightfall. When he stepped over the threshold he knew something was wrong. The scent of fresh human blood was all over the house. Like someone had thrown a vamp party in there. Damon expected the worst and started looking for his brother. He found him in the parlor, sitting on the couch and reading a book.

"Welcome home," Stefan greeted him.

Damon didn't answer. He stopped in front of Stefan and simply stared at him.

"Something wrong?" Stefan asked calmly and turned a page.

"I guess so…" Damon said and then he felt like a lever was switched in his head. He hurried into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.

"What the…?"

He had stored at least four blood bags in there. Four! And now they were all gone. Damon closed the fridge, took a deep breath and walked back into the parlor. He cleared his throat loudly.

"Um, Stefan?"

"Mmm?"

"Did you… by any chance notice… that the whole house reeks of blood? Human blood?" he specified.

"Oh, the smell must come from the trash. I just take it out," Stefan said, closed the book and got up.

"What? No!" Damon said and pushed him back on the couch. "You're not going anywhere until you tell me why all I can smell in here is blood."

Stefan sighed. "Well, I actually need to talk to you about something."

" _Oh really?_ " Damon mocked, sat down on a stool opposite of him and looked at him sternly. "Go ahead then."

"Well, um," Stefan began. "Something happened while I was traveling around."

" _What_ happened?"

"At some point I… wasn't near the woods or any zoo and I hadn't fed for a week… The hunger increased steadily…

Stefan's voice sounded desperate now as he told Damon of his darkest hour in a long time. Damon already knew the end of the story.

"There's a period of time I can't remember," Stefan continued. "About five minutes… I can only remember everything after that."

"After _what?_ " Damon asked, encouraging his brother to go on. Talking about it might help him, he figured.

"Stefan buried his hand in his hands. "I lost control… I attacked someone and… and I killed her."

Damon nodded. That was what he had been assumed all along. He had been able to tell from the ways Stefan's eyes had looked when he had seen him this morning. They were even darker now.

"So you finally remembered what you really are. Was about time. Squirrels are gonna miss you," Damon joked but his facial expression was serious.

"That's not funny," Stefan replied in pain. "Ever since I have that hunger I can't control it. I emptied your stores and it didn't help in the least."

"Yeah, thanks for that," Damon said. "So what are you gonna do now?"

"That's why I came home," Stefan told him. "I hoped you could help me."

Damon laughed darkly. "Help you? I can't help you with it, Stefan. You need to learn how to control it on your own and this only works if you feed regularly."

"I don't think I can ever control it," Stefan replied. "It took me months to control it last time and that was not long after we were turned. But now after I did without it for more than a century the hunger increases by a thousand times. You can't imagine–"

"Oh yes, I can," Damon cut him off. "Remember when you locked me up in the cellar with the verveine? I didn't feed for a week and I thought I was going to die and when I was free and fed I couldn't get enough of it. I drained five or six humans and it still wasn't enough. I know exactly how you feel."

"How did you calm down?" Stefan asked.

"I fed everyday two times from there on. Like I said, feeding regularly decreases the need."

"But I can't!"

"Here we go again," Damon groaned.

"No, really, I can't," Stefan insisted. "You didn't see me back then. Our ways parted after we were turned. I did so many things that I'm not proud of."

"Do you think it was easy for me?" Damon said angrily. "It wasn't."

"But you got it better under control. Maybe because you wanted it all along."

"That's what I'm talking about," Damon said. "Stop struggling and start living the life of a real vampire."

Stefan shook his head vehemently and stared at the ground. Damon groaned in frustration. He sighed and looked at his little brother who was lost in thoughts. Damon's eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms.

"Why do I have the feeling that there's more to it?"

Stefan sighed. "Because there is." He raised his head to meet Damon's gaze. "Elena…" he began. "When I'm with her I want to–"

A loud gasp interrupted them. Damon cranked his head and Stefan turned his head hastily around to find Elena standing shocked in the hallway. When the two vampires became aware of her presence she turned around and bolted through the door.

"Elena!" two voices called after her.

Stefan got up but Damon pushed him down on the couch.

"You stay here!" he ordered. "You'd do more harm than good."

* * *

Elena was desperately trying to find the right key to her car. It was difficult because she was trembling. If it wasn't already bad enough it was raining buckets. It took her only two minutes to be soaked from head to toe.

"Elena," a soft voice came from behind her.

She turned around to find Damon standing in front of her. He looked sadly at her. His eyes held so much pity for her that she couldn't bear it and burst out into tears.

"Damon…"

She put her arms around his waist and pressed herself against him, sobbing hard and seeking his comfort. Damon put his arms around her and hugged her tightly, rubbing her back soothingly. None of them cared that they were standing in the rain.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "That you had to listen to it."

He was still perplexed that she had been there listening all along. He had been so lost in Stefan's story that he hadn't felt her presence. Thank god, Stefan hadn't either. He was so wracked right. If Damon hadn't been there he had probably lunged at Elena in bloodlust and even if she had survived his attack she wouldn't have been safe. Once Stefan would taste her blood he would become obsessed with it.

"I shouldn't have come," Elena sobbed. "I'm sorry. You told me to stay away but I… I didn't want to believe…"

"I know," Damon said. "I know…"

She raised her head to look at him with tears in her eyes. The sight broke Damon's heart. He couldn't bear to see her like this. So sad… so broken…

"How do we go on from here?" she whispered and her voice broke several times.

"I'll try to get him back on track," Damon told her. "And until we manage that I don't want you to come here anymore. If there's news I'll tell you. But until then you have wait, okay?"

"Okay…"

She let go of him and wiped her tears away.

"Do you want me to drive you home?" he offered.

"No, it's okay," she declined. "I've got this. And don't drop by later. I want to be alone for a while." Damon nodded. Elena sighed. "If you hadn't been there I probably wouldn't… but you've been there and I'm so glad. Thank you."

Damon simply nodded again. He couldn't think of anything she could thank him for. It had been coincidental that they both had been there at the same time. He opened the driver's door for her with a small encouraging smile on his lips.

"Take care."

"I will, thanks," she said.

* * *

She got into her car and drove away and Damon went back inside. Stefan was already waiting for him in the hallway.

"What was that?" he demanded angrily. He had obviously been watching them.

"Comforting."

"Why do you get to hug and comfort her and I don't?"

"Because I have myself under control," Damon said pointedly. "Whereas you are farther from control I've ever been. You were already dangerously close to her this morning. What the hell were you thinking?!"

"I wouldn't," Stefan replied. "Never."

"Yeah, tell that to your hunger," Damon said, not convinced at all. "Look, I'm willing to help you but you have to make an important decision, Stefan. What do crave more? Elena's blood or her love and trust? What do you really want?"

* * *

When Elena arrived at home she went straight to her bedroom and locked the door. Her body has been trembling all the way. Now her legs gave in. She broke down on the floor, sobbing violently. She was shocked. It all seemed like a terrible nightmare except that she wasn't asleep. She was awake and had to face the cruelty of reality. What had happened to her beloved Stefan? How could a taste of human blood change a person so drastically? Damon was in control so why wasn't Stefan? She couldn't understand it all. All she knew was that for the first time in her life she had been afraid. She was scared of Stefan.

How could they go on from there? She couldn't imagine herself being with Stefan again. How was he ever going to regain her trust? Elena didn't know. Her little fairytale with the good guy that was winning over his dark side collapsed in front of her like a card house in the wind. Tears ran uncontrollably down her face. She sought nothing more than comfort right now. She wished for strong arms around her and a soft voice telling her that everything was going to be fine. And somehow the image of Damon entered her mind. Her prayers seemed to be answered when strong arms really did encircle her and hugged her tightly. Elena leant into the embrace and her hands desperately grasped the leather for hold.

"I told you – not to – come," she said between sobs.

"I know," the voice that belonged to the strong arms replied. "But I came anyway." Damon gently placed a kiss into her hair. "And I'm not gonna leave."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Isn't it sweet? XD Stefan's got a real big problem. It will become even worse in the next chapter. I am borrowing from the show again because I just thought this whole character change in Stefan is useful to push Elena a little closer to Damon^^.
> 
> So, work put me on a seminar to learn more skills. That means I will have the weekends off for the next five weeks which means you can expect uploads in our regular schedule, Saturday and Sunday. Until then, have a successful week!

**Author's Note:**

> Truth be told. This is a fanfiction that got me to write 76 chapters. So... If you want me upload all of them let me know! :)


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